The orangutans are curiously watching while the elephants are being taken to protected areas in the zoo, where there are hurricane-proof buildings.
We hope that the animals are subjected to minimal stress, that's always our goal, says Tiffany Burns, who is evacuating the animals.
The staff is trying to maintain a positive attitude during the preparations for the storm, but everyone is worried about how their own homes will be affected by the bad weather, she says.
It's very difficult to see such a powerful storm coming back to us so soon.
Debris is still scattered around the region after Hurricane Helene, which ravaged from northern Florida to the Appalachian Mountains at the end of September. Over 230 people lost their lives in Helene's wake in southeastern USA.
Almost the entire west coast of Florida is covered by the hurricane warning for Milton, which was downgraded from a category 5 hurricane to category 4 during the night towards Tuesday local time. However, according to the forecasts, it still poses "an extremely serious threat to Florida".
