ABOVE: The animal care team at the Tulane National Primate Research Center (shown in background) provided continuous care for its colony of nonhuman primates in the days surrounding Hurricane Ida.
TULANE UNIVERSITY
Nearly two weeks after Category 4 Hurricane Ida barreled through coastal Louisiana at the end of August, research institutes in the area are taking inventory. Most labs appear to have survived relatively unscathed, though many researchers have not yet been able to see their laboratories for themselves.
“We took it very seriously,” says Jay Rappaport, director of the Tulane National Primate Research Center. University staff had daily meetings to discuss preparation leading up to the storm and ensured that no researchers had ongoing projects vulnerable to disruption when the storm hit.
Most scientists evacuated, but some had to stay. Nearly 40 members of Tulane’s veterinary staff have been living and sleeping at the primate center to keep the animals ...
