Animals Did Not Escape From a New Jersey Zoo During Hurricane Ida
The Claim
Animals escaped from the Turtle Back Zoo in South Orange, New Jersey as the remnants of Hurricane Ida passed through the area.
News posted on
Emerging story
On September 1, Tropical Storm Ida brought devastation to the state of New Jersey. In the midst of the chaos, rumors that a number of animals escaped from a local zoo began circulating on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
When the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit New Jersey it left more than 25 people dead and caused extreme flooding. There were even a number of tornados that tore across the state. However, the disaster did not result in any animals escaping from Essex County’s Turtle Back Zoo.
The claim first appeared on the @CNNBRNWS Twitter feed. The account is modeled to look like the official CNN Breaking News account (@cnnbrk). However, @CNNBRNWS is a parody account. Its bio states, “(I am a PARODY ACCOUNT) Breaking news from CNN Digital.”
The zoo responded to the concern on Twitter by saying, “There was no loss of power and all of our animals and animal areas weathered the storm well and remain safe and secure within the facility.”
The County Executive of Essex, Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., also took to social media to squash the rumors. In a September 2nd statement, DiVincenzo said, “The social media message stating that animals have left Essex County Turtle Back Zoo is unequivocally false.” Local news sites also reported on the story confirming that the rumors were unfounded.
