Skip to content

Animals moved in wheelie bins after storm damage

Jess Doughty A brown wallaby coming out of a blue wheelie bin. There is a member of staff holding the lid open and wearing a green fleece with black trousers and boots. Jess Doughty
Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park said three of its larger trees fell on Saturday during Storm Darragh

Staff at a wildlife park in Devon used wheelie bins to move some animals after fallen trees damaged enclosures.

Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park said three "massive trees", thought to be 100-150 years old, fell on Saturday during Storm Darragh.

Two of the trees disconnected the main powerline at the park while the other went through two enclosures and knocked down fences.

Despite having crates, a senior keeper said bins were to transport wallabies one at a time as "they were priority" for being moved out of harm's way.

One of the fallen trees which is chopped up in front of an enclosure. There is part of the fence missing on the right and trees in the background.
Louisa Bartlett said thankfully the animals were still in their enclosure and alive after the trees fell

Head keeper Louisa Bartlett said one of the damaged enclosures housed black and white ruffed lemurs and the other housed eight wallabies.

She said: "Thankfully, when we came down in the morning, although the trees were straight across the fence and it had been flattened, they were still in their enclosure and alive.

"We had to catch them and move them to alternative accommodation elsewhere in the park."

She said the team used a "little initiative" in choosing to move the wallabies one at a time using the bins.

Louisa Bartlett Louisa Bartlett on the left taking a selfie with her team members. There are three members of staff on the left, behind her, with crates and another member of staff on the right holding the lid of a blue wheelie bin down.Louisa Bartlett
Louisa Bartlett said the team also moved all its reptiles while they got the generator up and running

She said: "We didn't want them straying into the park. It would have been a lot harder to get a hold of them."

As well as those animals, the team moved its African penguins, Oscar the great white pelican, two emus and all its reptiles while they got a generator up and running.

Louisa Bartlett crouched beside a damaged T-Rex figure. She is wearing a green fleece jumper with grey trousers. The T-Rex is blue with yellow claws. They are on grass.
Louisa Bartlett said the park was still seeking volunteers to help with the clean-up

She said the team worked "systematically" through the animals during the storm and said some of its dinosaur figures were also damaged.

Ms Bartlett said at least 20 trees had fallen during the storm across the park and another tree was due to be cut down as it has a "huge split down the middle".

She said she did not know how much repairs would cost.

After putting out an appeal for volunteers on social media to help clear the damage, she was "astonished" when 36 volunteers turned up on Monday.

She added they were still looking for volunteers to help with repairs and repair the damage.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary A damaged wooden box shelter on a field. The fence on the left has blown down and there are trees in the background. The Mare and Foal Sanctuary
Damage at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary included a blown-down fence

Meanwhile, equine welfare charity the Mare and Foal Sanctuary said it was counting the cost of the storm, which left debris, overturned wooden field shelters, fallen trees, cut power and cancelled Christmas events.

Chief operating officer Iain Wylie said: "Thankfully the only casualties were tree branches, barn panels, a fence and outdoor field shelters.

"The maintenance team will be busy this week, clearing debris, assessing any damage and repairing structures.

"I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our dedicated staff for managing through such awful conditions."

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].

Related internet links