Parrot Jungle

by Eric Minton

www.gettheloop.com

703-567-0532
eric@gettheloop.com












©2003, Minton Enterprises LLC All rights reserved

Parrot Jungle Island
Miami, Florida

www.parrotjungle.com

Click on the logo for more information about Parrot Jungle Island

Flora and fauna first
This is not the first time Jeff Shimonski, director of horticulture, has had to grow Parrot Jungle. Having worked at the theme park since 1975, he saw Hurricane Andrew “flatten” the park in 1992. He learned one key lesson from that experience which has played a big part in building the new Parrot Jungle Island in Miami, Florida. “We realized we could move a lot of trees,” he said. “A lot of these big trees went over” in Andrew. “We stood them back up again, and we had very good survival.”	Posing for pictures with parrots remains one of the favorite attractions at Parrot Jungle Island.
Consequently, he had little concern moving the trees of Parrot Jungle Island as often as three times, and so far his survival rate is 100 percent. “It’s not just moving the trees properly and standing them up properly, it’s the pre- and the post-horticultural maintenance that makes them survive,” he said. His favorite form of maintenance is compost, with its fungicidal properties naturally cycling nutrients to the trees. “We have used only 20 bags of fertilizer on the entire site in a year and a half, and that was only to help inoculate the soil’s microorganisms.” He didn’t actually move Parrot Jungle from its old location to the new. Rather, the original Parrot Jungle’s plants served to propagate plants for the new site.
			Parrot Jungle’s animals, on the other hand, did make the trek from South Miami to Watson Island, a task carried out under the direction of General Curator Trent Swigert. Among the residents making the move were a 500-pound (227-kilogram) tortoise that has "a mind of his own” and a 2,400-pound (1,542-kilogram) crocodile measuring almost 20 feet (6 meters) that, well, is a big crocodile. The snakes are easy, Swigert said; put them in snake bags and crates and carry them across town. The parrots also presented little problem because they are used to human contact. However, many of them were heading for Parrot Jungle Island’s Manu Encounter, one of the largest free-flight aviary for psittacines with more than 200 parrots and macaws. “There will be a period of time where there will be a pecking order established, that the birds will have to feel out who’s in charge and where they can sit,” Swigert said. That process began gradually a couple months before their move. Going into the move, Swigert’s biggest concern was the park’s flock of flamingoes. “They are a really fragile animal, and some of the birds are in their 40s and 50s.” The plan was to herd them into a group and move them tightly onto a truckbed covered with sand so the flamingos wouldn’t slip and slide during the journey. “I’m glad that’s your program,” Shimonski said. “You’re helping with the crocodile,” countered Swigert. Story by Eric Minton Photos courtesy of Parrot Jungle Island Page design by Ian Minton

Ruby Seays, a Parrot Jungle employee of 25 years, rips the first ticket at the new park, allowing Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and his daughter through the gate.