Pinellas wildlife sanctuary desperate for new home
MADERIA BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Sonny Flynn is the founder of the Alligator and Wildlife Discovery Center in Madeira Beach.
“I come in, I talk to them, I hold them, nurture them and they give me peace,” she explained. “Not only do I save them, but they save me every day.”
She houses 160 animals; from birds to gators and even lemurs.
A devastating fire left her wildlife sanctuary in shambles back in July, killing over 100 animals. Flynn said she had firefighters walk through her animal sanctuary once a year, before the fire.
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She found it important, as she changed things in her sanctuary frequently and wanted to prepare for the worst.
Flynn told 8 On Your Side, it’s that preparation and effort from firefighters that ended up saving lives.
“They’re spot on,” she said. “‘Need to know what’s dangerous, what’s not, who you want to rescue first,’ and that’s actually what happened.”
“They were able to come in, know what door to come into, where to look to see what’s alive and they were able to save 137 animals,” she continued.
“If you wouldn’t have done that, how more catastrophic do you think this would’ve been?,” asked News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers.
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“I think I would’ve lost them all,” Flynn responded.
Now just over seven months later, it’s still not ready.
“The demo is completely done,” she described. “The building is ready for reconstruction.”
“We’re just waiting on permits,” she concluded.
As she waits, Flynn has been operating out of a former Bank of America. But that donated temporary housing for all of her wildlife comes to an end on March 31.
“So if you can’t find something in time, what happens next?” Rogers asked.
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“I’ll have some staff members take some of the animals home,” Flynn responded. “That’s limited. I have a tiny one-bedroom apartment that I’m having racks built so I can move some of them in there.”
Now she’s asking her community for help, saying she needs a 2,000 square foot place with electric and water access, with the fate of all 160 animals at stake.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me, ‘Why don’t you just let it go?” she said. “I just can’t.”
“I lost over 100 babies there,” she said referring to the fire. “I’m just too close to them.”
You can donate to the Alligator and Wildlife Discovery Center here.
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