The very familiar turnstiles that generations of Guamanians have happily passed through, ushering them from the bustle of the Tumon strip to a world of nature, discovery and wonderment is closed...at least for the time being. The Guam Zoo, owned and managed by Jimmy and Barbara Cushing, suffered significant damage at the hands of Typhoon Mawar three weeks ago.

A sign silently resting above the facility indicated the closure while the substantial damages are being fixed, with the tenants tended to – all the tenants that fly, crawl, swim or perch.

Miraculously, the animals themselves fared incredibly well during the storm, even if their pens, aquariums and sanctuaries are now grossly twisted, fallen and broken remnants of their normal conditions.

Jimmy says while a laundry list of repairs is ongoing throughout the park, they're in desperate need of community contributions to get them back to being a treasured island resource for kids of all ages.

"Right now, we're working on getting some fundraising going," he told KUAM News. "We need financial support to do the trees and to handle landscaping and some of the cages. We have some bird cages that are damaged."

Julia Wagner runs Zoological Disaster Response, Rescue and Recovery, and rushed to Guam setup help once the storm passed, with the Cushing's swift dedication to rebuilding the facilities next to Matapang Beach making an immediate impact. "I've been very amazed by how quickly they were able to get the animal habitats to a place that was more visually appealing," she commented.

"I will say they did a remarkable job at keeping the animals safe and well-housed during the storm. And a lot of the photos that we're seeing online tend to be form outside the zoo where the debris tends to be around the perimeter and habitats. So they've done a lot of work to get those interior habitats and pathways cleared, which is what is allowing the animals to remain safe in their environments. It's allowing Jimmy and Barbara to maintain that ongoing care that's required for the animals."

So the get the Cushings the aide they need, along with and the many members of the animal kingdom they care for, online resources are now available if you'd like to help.

"The donor portal has been setup," Wagner noted. "All funds go directly to The Guam Zoom – ZDR3 does not receive any portion of that – we just make sure they get that pipeline. And then also, there's an Amazon wishlist, so if you'd like to pick out specific items. I sat with Jimmy and Barb during the process of selecting everything they were looking for, and everything that's on that list they really thought hard about."

While the team is committed to reopening, there's no hard timeline for doing so. Still, Wagner is confident that the Guam Zoo will be better than ever, being driven by love.

She continued, "Despite the hardship, it was a truly incredible environment. I meet a lot of people in our industry; I meet a lot of folks who have zoos all around the country, and it is very amazing to see folks who have been doing it for as long as they have, with the experience they have, and to see them get up and still do it every single day."

And as a subplot, the typhoon made its closest point of approach to Guam on Jimmy and Barbara's 49th wedding anniversary. True to their character, they're focusing on the road ahead. Wagner recalled, "I actually asked Jimmy and Barbara about that, which was, 'That must have been very hard - where do you want to see yourself on your 50th anniversary? Because hopefully it'll be different.' And they kind of thought about it and their answer was, 'Well, we want to be here.'"

"And I thought the goal was to be here and to have things be rebuilt. And they were in agreement."