The lurking hypothetical planet
Curious? Check out this gallery to find out how hurricanes impact wildlife.
It is no great secret that hurricanes are very disruptive. In the run-up to Helene and Milton, many residents of high-risk areas packed up their belongings and evacuated.
Indeed, when extreme weather strikes and your home is no longer safe, the best thing to do is relocate to a place of safety to wait out the storm.
But what about all the animals who live in high-risk areas for hurricanes? How do the storms affect their routines, and are they able to keep themselves safe?
The first thing to note is that certain species are at a higher risk of harm during a hurricane than others. On land, it is often birds that suffer the most.
Birds tend to be very light and have little protection on their bodies. This means that they are easily tossed around by strong winds.
Birds often live in trees and rely on them for food. Since trees are often brought down by a hurricane, this can make it difficult for them to survive.
The combination of these factors means that birds often suffer a disproportionate amount of harm during a hurricane, despite the fact they are sometimes able to detect it before the fact.
Indeed, some birds are able to detect changes in barometric pressure and infrared radiation. This sometimes enables them to seek cover or migrate early.
At sea, it is slow-moving fish and shellfish that find it most difficult to avoid harm during a hurricane.
In 1992, for example, Hurricane Andrew was responsible for killing hundreds of millions of fish across the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana.
Hurricanes are harmful to certain fish because they disrupt shallow sea beds. They cause the sand to move around, which in turn damages the animals that live there.
Coral in particular suffers a huge amount whenever there is a hurricane because it cannot do anything to change its location.
Indeed, coral reefs, despite being very sturdy and hardy under normal weather conditions, often suffer the most underwater damage during a hurricane.
On land, the animals that fare best during a hurricane are the ones that are able to burrow or hide away in the underbrush.
Raccoons and scavenger animals, for example, are often able to take advantage of the disrupted forest floor and find new food sources in the debris.
There are also amazing stories of land-borne animals finding their fins during a hurricane and swimming their way to safety.
During Hurricane Dorian, for example, three cows were swept off their home on Cedar Island by the raging storm.
However, they were found on a neighboring island a month later munching on some grass as if nothing had happened. They had swum four miles (six kilometers) to safety during the storm.
At sea, the creatures who suffer the least harm are those who can detect changes in pressure, water temperature, salinity, and currents.
When a hurricane is approaching the Florida coast, for example, marine animals such as dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles are often able to identify it and react before becoming stranded.
In the case of dolphins and whales, scientists believe that they are able to detect the change in salinity that happens when an outer band brings in heavy freshwater rain.
Since these mammals must come to the surface to breathe, they are more likely to swim away to an area with normal salinity levels to wait out the storm.
That's not to say that these animals never come to harm during a hurricane, of course. It’s just that the risk is considerably lower.
Unfortunately, the greatest threat to wildlife during a hurricane is related to human activity, and often it occurs after the storm has passed.
Debris from housing and businesses can completely destroy the habitats of animals that live in the surrounding area.
Furthermore, the toxic waste from facilities such as power plants and fertilizer factories can overflow into waterways during a storm.
This can further damage animals’ habitats and in some cases, it takes weeks, if not months to clear up the mess.
Unfortunately, much of the damage caused by a hurricane is inevitable. However, by reducing pollution in general we can help reduce the risk of harm to wildlife.
Sources: (Environment America) (The Guardian)
How hurricanes disrupt wildlife
It's not only humans who suffer in extreme weather
LIFESTYLE Extreme weather
With extreme weather on the rise and hurricanes tearing across parts of the US, protecting human lives is at the forefront of most people's minds. As residents of the highest-risk areas evacuate their homes, the level of disruption is unimaginable. However, it's not only humans who experience disruption to their lives when a storm strikes. Animals, too, have to deal with drastic changes to their habitats.
Curious? Check out this gallery to find out how hurricanes impact wildlife.