Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, Florida residents had been preparing for days. Some were required to evacuate their homes, others did what they could to minimize potential damage and keep themselves and their loved ones safe and a handful chose to ride it out despite the potential risks.

As millions of people evacuated Florida's Gulf Coast, the African elephants, Caribbean flamingos, pigmy hippos and about 1,000 other animals are riding out the monstrous Hurricane Milton at Tampa's zoo.

More than 1,000 animals live at the 65-acre zoo, including elephants, giraffes, primates, flamingos, alligators, extinct-in-the-wild Panamanian golden frogs and rare red wolves. For now, ZooTampa is well within Milton’s projected path. It lies less than 10 miles from Tampa’s waterfront, where storm surge could reach up to 13 feet.