The Wonder Gardens has replaced its bird aviary for its resident African grey and Amazon parrots through a $25,000 grant from the Collaboratory.
Supplied by Custom Gages, the aviary includes naturalistic perches and enrichment toys for the birds and meets the welfare standards of the United States Department of Agriculture, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
“We are so grateful to be able to provide this new aviary to our resident parrots,” said Kaitlyn Henry, director of living collections. “The older aviary where they lived was damaged in Hurricane Ian. As a nonprofit, we are excited that community donations will allow us to provide more of these upgraded aviaries for other birds at the Wonder Gardens.”
Wind and flooding from Hurricane Ian impacted the existing, older aviary at the Bonita Springs park, causing rapid rusting and making it unsafe for the birds, which were removed until the aviary was replaced.
Two other older aviaries were also impacted by the storm and need to be upgraded.
New aviaries are estimated to cost about $30,000 each with toys, perches and fencing. Additional funding would allow the gardens to add more birds and aviaries.
More information on the aviaries project is available by calling 239-992-2591 or visiting wondergardens.org/donations.
Wonder Gardens is a charitable zoological park and botanical garden hat was established in 1936 in Bonita Springs. The park is home to rescued birds and reptiles and cares for rescued, rehabilitated, and non-releasable animals.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.