If you live in Florida, you’ve probably heard of hurricane season. From June to November, the entire state of Florida is at an increased risk of experiencing tropical storms and hurricanes. To explain, a hurricane is a type of natural disaster that can lead to heavy winds, flooding from storm surge, and extreme rain, as well as flying debris that can lead to property damage and injury.
While hurricanes can devastate homes and lead to injury or death among humans, they can also have a huge impact on wildlife. Wild animals live outside, which means they are especially vulnerable to the dangers associated with hurricanes. All types of wildlife habitats can be affected, including land and sea animals.
Some of the ways hurricanes affect wild animals include habitat loss, displacement, flooding, injuries, deaths, a decrease in food availability, changes in water salinity, and more. It can also cause many animals to seek shelter in human homes, disrupting the ecosystem and causing you to need a wildlife removal expert.
If an animal has found shelter in your home during a hurricane, Nuisance Wildlife Rangers are here to help. We can trap animals and relocate them back into their natural environment after they’ve been displaced during a large storm.
Wildlife and Storms: How Do Hurricanes Affect Wild Animals?
Extreme weather events or major storms like hurricanes can wreak havoc on a variety of wildlife species. Sometimes, animals might look for better shelter and enter your home. Knowing how severe weather events affect animals might help you understand why they’ve tried to shelter in your house.
Hurricanes affect wild animals in the following ways:
Habitat Loss and Displacement
Hurricanes cause heavy rains, high winds, and extensive damage to structures. When there is a lot of wind and flooding, habitats might be completely wiped out. As a result, the animals that lived there became displaced, lacking the shelter they needed to survive.
Because of this, they might look for shelter in strange places. For example, some species might be tempted to enter your home to stay safe from powerful winds, flying storm debris, downed trees, and flooding. If you have a wild animal in your home, you’ll need a professional like Nuisance Wildlife Rangers to trap and relocate it back into the wild.
Storm Surge
Storm surge is characterized by the rise of the sea due to atmospheric pressure and wind from a hurricane. It can inundate wetlands and coastal areas, causing fish and wildlife to become displaced. Storm surge can affect many species and habitats, including coral reefs, sea turtle nests, burrowing animals, manatees, and other animals found on land and in the water.
Injuries and Deaths
Hurricanes cause extreme weather, including heavy winds that cause debris to fly in the air. This can cause animals to become trapped, crushed, or directly hit with heavy objects. Unfortunately, it is common for a large number of animals to become injured or die during hurricanes.
Once the storm passes, you might go out on a walk to assess the damage in your area. If you come across an injured wildlife, you can contact an animal shelter, animal control, Florida Fish and Wildlife, or another organization that can get it the help it needs.
Strandings
Major storms can cause animals to become stranded. For example, marine animals like manatees can become beached during a storm surge. Even animals like sharks or alligators can accidentally swim into residential areas that are flooded.
When wildlife becomes stranded in this manner, local authorities have to work to relocate them back into their natural habitat.
Food Availability
An indirect way hurricanes and big storms affect wildlife is through food availability, or a lack thereof. For example, flooding can eliminate specific food sources that some animals rely on, like nuts, fruits, or insects. As a result, the food chain becomes broken, disrupting the entire local ecosystem.
Changes in Water Salinity
Flood waters and surges can introduce saltwater into freshwater ecosystems, causing sickness and death among various species that cannot survive in saltwater. Changes in water salinity coupled with the damage caused by hurricanes can disrupt the delicate balance in habitats like wetlands, dunes, and coral reefs less suitable for wildlife.
Invasive Species
Flooding and strong winds can bring invasive species into new environments, causing major disruption to the current ecosystem. The invasive species will begin to fight residents over food sources, potentially wiping out native species.
What Should You Do if There Is an Animal in Your Home?
If an animal has entered your home during a hurricane, you’ll need to contact a company like Nuisance Wildlife Rangers. As long as travel is safe during the storm, we will come to trap, remove, and relocate the animal to a safer place for them to ride out the storm.
That said, sometimes hurricanes make it impossible for us to operate. If we cannot immediately come to your home to remove the animal, some steps need to be taken to ensure your safety. While we will walk you through the process over the phone, it can be helpful to know some tips in advance.
If there is an animal in your home that cannot be removed immediately, you need to contain it. Large animals might need to be sectioned off into one room. However, you might be able to capture small animals in containers until we can arrive to remove them.
Get Connected to a Wildlife Removal Expert
If you have a wild animal living in your home, it’s time to seek professional help. At Nuisance Wildlife Rangers, we use a humane and ethical approach to animal trapping. Instead of harming them, we will use baited traps to safely secure them before relocating them back into the wild.
Nuisance Wildlife Rangers is a full-time wildlife and animal removal company that extends its services to both commercial and residential clients. We have a great team of animal trappers that will work tirelessly to ensure that your home is free of any nuisance critters. We do not use any harmful products, and we will focus on humane methods to exterminate the animals. Our trappers are experienced and will explain every stage of the wildlife removal process. We are committed to ensuring that your home is safe and protected from the invasion of animals.
Contact us today for more information on how tropical storms and hurricanes affect animals in Florida.
