A huge rescue operation has been launched to retrieve 275 rare parrots and two lemurs from an island cut off by Hurricane Ian.
Owners of the Malama Manu Sanctuary on Pine Island, Florida, refused to leave as the terrifying storm bore down on them, not willing to abandon the animals to their fate.
Will Peratino and his partner Lauren Stepp instead coralled their birds into their home to protect them from the 150mph winds and rising waters.
Mr Peratino said: "We had four feet of water in the house, damned-near drowned".
The mission, dubbed Operation Noah's Ark, was launched on Tuesday October 4 in an attempt to round up the birds and ferry them off the island, the only way the two owners would also agree to leave.
Ms Stepp said: “We would not abandon them. I would never leave them. Never.
“If they cannot be fed or watered, they will die. And I can’t live with that."
The 275 parrots cared for by the couple include some of the world's rarest, rescued from previous owners who couldn't care from them or used for breeding. The flock included macaws, cockatoos and even rare specimens of king parrots.
Hurricane Ian tore through the area damaging roads and destroying the one bridge to the island from Fort Myers.
The rescue mission roped in Bryan Stern, the founder and leader of Project Dynamo, who had been running rescue missions along the battered coast all week.
With Stern's help four boats were assembled along with a team of volunteers who re caged the birds and got them off the island.
Stern said: “Will and Laura, who own the sanctuary, their hearts and souls are in the birds. So they're going through their own suffering from the hurricane and having to rebuild their lives.
"They lost all kinds of stuff. Is the answer to that to lose more?”
The barrier islands along Florida's west coast were some of the worst hit, lying directly in the path of the devastating Hurricane.
As vital bridges were downed, rescue efforts were made all the more difficult as beleaguered residents tried to put their lives back together.
The death toll has now surpassed 100 with Lee County, where Fort Myers and Pine Island are, the worst hit.
Criticism of how authorities prepared the state for the storm is mounting with many accusing them of not evacuating people sooner than they did.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno hit back saying: "I am confident in our county manager, in our leaders, our governor, all of us in law enforcement, that we got that message out at the right time."
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis also joined in with the defence of local authorities, saying people should "be focussing on lifting people up".
