Wolves, bobcats and other critters take shelter in Fort Valley

A wide assortment of critters removed from the path of Hurricane Matthew took shelter at Fort Valley State University on Thursday.

Two school buses, along with two pickups towing livestock trailers, dropped off 68 animals at the college’s State Animal Facility for Emergencies. All of the animals came from the Oatland Island Education Center in Chatham County.

The animals included grey wolves, bobcats, baby alligators, bald eagles, snakes, a cow, a donkey, chickens, turkeys, buzzards and various other domestic and exotic animals.

The Oatland center in Savannah is operated by the Chatham County school district. Two special education school buses were hastily modified for the trip. Unlike most of the district’s buses, the special education buses have air conditioning. The seats were removed to accommodate the cages.

If the hurricane doesn’t shut down schools next week, the buses will go right back to hauling students after a good cleaning. Both drivers of the buses said the trip went well and they made it with little delay.

The FVSU shelter opened in 2012 as an emergency shelter for animals during natural disasters. It has been used frequently on a small scale to house animals temporarily, but this is the first time it has been used for its intended purpose, said George McCommon, who oversees the shelter.

“I’m glad about the fact that we are here and we are needed,” she said.

McCommon said he had no trouble getting students in the veterinarian school to volunteer to help. He has about 30 students assisting.

One of those was Kayla Crawford, a senior pursuing a degree as a veterinary technician.

“This is amazing,” she said after helping unload the first bus. “We don’t get to handle these types of animals, ever.”

This is the first time Oatland has evacuated animals, said Heather Merbs, the director of the center. Previously they had an agreement with the fairgrounds in Statesboro and Augusta to evacuate animals to those locations, but she said the Fort Valley facility was much better suited.

It was just earlier this year that Merbs and other center staff visited the Fort Valley shelter to determine if it would meet their needs in the event of an evacuation. They decided it would, and an agreement was reached that it would serve that purpose for the center.

Merbs said she expects the animals will remain at the shelter at least until Sunday, and it could be longer if the wildlife center suffers damage.

If anyone was hoping to drop by and gander at the animals, the shelter will not be open to the public.

Merbs said most of the animals were born in the wild, found injured or orphaned and rehabilitated at the center.

People who want to help the nonprofit shelter with evacuation expenses can send a check to Oatland Island Education Center, 711 Sandtown Road, Savannah, GA 31410.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Wolves, bobcats and other critters take shelter in Fort Valley."