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Loading...How Do Wild Animals Survive Hurricanes?
People can flee Hurricane Sandy, but what about wildlife? Animals who live outdoors don’t have the option of evacuating to city-run shelters or hunkering down indoors. They must brave the brunt of the storm, and some of them will not survive it.
Baby animals who live in trees, like squirrels and birds, are at high risk of being blown out of their nests and becoming lost, separated from their parents forever. One example is a litter of baby squirrels who were blown out of their nest and rescued by a Good Samaritan. “[I]f the animals had not been found they would have died within hours,” whether from shock or predators, the Daily Mail reported. But the news wasn’t all good for this squirrel family: sanctuary workers feared that their mother, whom rescuers could not locate, was still searching for her missing babies.
Birds are also in danger of death or dislocation from hurricanes. Some, like woodpeckers, know how to weather the storm — they stay in holes in trees. But migratory birds don’t fare as well. “Powerful winds from hurricanes and tropical storms can blow birds off course and push them hundreds of miles away from their home habitat,” according to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Some of them never make it back.
Non-migratory birds are in peril of losing their food sources. “Birds living in hurricane areas…suffer when their food supplies, such as fruits and berries, are stripped from trees and shrubs,” reports Birding.com. But at least the adults can stay put: their toes are designed to clench tight around branches, allowing them to resist even strong winds.
Sea mammals have it hard too. Kevin Coyle of NWF writes that “some dolphins and manatees have actually been blown ashore during major storms.”
Other sea life can suffer from the intermingling of salt and fresh water when a hurricane’s high winds cause storm surges, NWF explains: “[S]alty ocean water [piles] up and surge[s] onshore,” which “shifts the delicate balance of freshwater and brackish wetland areas. Creatures and vegetation that are less salt-tolerant will be harmed and many will not survive this influx of sea water.”
“The reverse is true too. The heavy rains generated by hurricanes will dump water in coastal area river basins (called watersheds) and this, in turn, can send vast amounts of fresh water surging downstream into coastal bays and estuaries.” Again, the vegetation and animals native to salt water may not survive the disruption to their ecosystem.
Wildlife aren’t the only animals at risk: there are also the companion animals left to fend for themselves, including even dogs who are chained up and can’t escape to seek shelter. If you come across domesticated animals whose people have abandoned them to the storm, click here for advice on how to help.
Government authorities learned from Katrina that many people will stay in their homes, in the path of danger, rather than abandon their pets. Perhaps as a result of that experience, during Hurricane Sandy all 65 New York City shelters allowed pets, and the city even encouraged people to bring their pets rather than leave them behind because there was no telling how long it would be before they could return home.
Very early in the storm Hurricane Sandy had already managed to put a deer in harm’s way, as shown in this video from New Jersey of the animal who somehow got caught in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Good news: it looks like the deer managed to escape the tide.
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For those in Hurricane Sandy’s path, when the storm is over and it is safe to go out, have a look around your neighborhood for animals who need help. You could be their only hope.
Related Stories:
Nearly Extinct Bird Blown Out of Nest During Storm: Rescuers Lend a Hand
Storms Leave Behind Wildlife, Pollution and Debris
Hurricane Pet Rescues (Videos)
Read more: animal rescue, animal welfare, hurricane, Hurricane Sandy, storm, wildlife
Photo credit: Hemera
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105 comments
+ add your ownI am always so very concerned with the fate of the wildlife and animals who are confined in cages or buildings and can't get out without assistance from humans....and the dogs who get tied up by their owners {grrrrrrrrr} have my concerns too.
Animals rely on humans for their care and safety.....we owe them that much at least.
I know there must have been a lot of other people who worry about the animals as much as I do. Thank you for the article.
I am so scared about the animals that have to live through this crap let alone humans. God is unforgiving!!
thanks for sharing, glad there is some news on what happens to the animals :)
I always think about the animals even though they are hardly mentioned......
Thank you for sharing.
During the hurricane I was thinking about all the helpless creatures out there and me in a warm bed. I was feeling so bad, I wish I could stop the hurricane immediately
I always think of them with floods and fires, but their loss of life and homes is never mentioned.
sad reality for wildlife.
thanks for the informative article, we all need to do our little bit to help the animals during this time. in fact on a random night, a bat flew in through my kitchen window and landed into my top-loading open washing machine. i only realised the fluttering sounds later and as it was too dark my siblings managed to remove it from the machine in the morning and place it near some grassy area where it could hopefully find its way home.
This was a wonderful story and I am so glad that Care2 posted this. I think that it is good to remind people of effects that these major storms have on our wildlife and even our outdoor farm animals and pets. All too often we only really hear about the dogs and cats that have been left behind by families that have left their homes quickly due to storm surges, etc.Few people think about the effect on the aqua life of the wildlife that live in the trees, etc. This was very informative and might help people to not just understand things but to possibly take action the next time something like this occurs closer to their home.
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