Dozens of volunteers help animal sanctuary recover from damage caused by Debby

PALM HARBOR, Fla. - More than 50 members of the community banded together on Tuesday to help the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary clean up damage from Hurricane Debby.

The nonprofit is now home to dozens of exotic animals and primates in Palm Harbor.

"The animals come to us either from medical testing facilities, maybe confiscation from Florida Fish and Wildlife, sometimes ownership, and they realize they got [in] over their head owning an exotic animal," Lori Weltz, Board of Directors VP, said.

The sanctuary has welcomed a variety of monkey species.

"We have baboons, capuchins, spider monkeys, macaques," she said.

The main attraction for its visitors is the Great Apes.

READ: Sarasota residents cleaning up following historic flood from Debby: 'I have to start at zero'

"We’re blessed to have a male orangutan and two female orangutans, which are highly endangered, and we have eight chimpanzees," she said.

Most of the primates at the sanctuary were locked up in hurricane-proof buildings throughout the storm. Once it passed through the area, Weltz was relieved to learn all the animals were okay. But the property was a mess.

"I was actually pretty shocked at how bad it was. The level of flooding was something I had never seen here before and I’ve been here for 11 years," she said. "The number of trees that were down, the amount of debris everywhere."

READ: Debby aftermath: Experts share basics on flood insurance, finding the right mitigation companies

Weltz went to Facebook and asked the community for help.

"I was actually so overwhelmed yesterday with joy, people saying, ‘I can come, I have a chainsaw.’ Someone said, ‘I’ll bring a whole dumpster.’ Tree companies said they’ll donate their services," she said.

When Tuesday morning rolled around, she and her staff, all of whom are volunteers, were astonished. More than 50 strangers showed up.

"That’s when you just know that there are good people in the world," she said.

Thanks to the extra hands, the sanctuary now plans to reopen this Thursday.

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