Tampa zoo and aquarium staff to ride out Milton with the animals

Millions of people on Florida’s Gulf Coast are preparing to evacuate as Hurricane Milton threatens their lives. But not the zoo and aquarium animals of Tampa.

With staff members hurriedly preparing around them, the animals are chomping away on shrimp or eucalyptus as the area’s biggest threat in a century barrels toward humans and beasts alike. The employees know what to do, but many facilities are still reeling from the deadly effects of Hurricane Helene a week ago.