How Does a Hurricane affect Animals?

Hurricanes are a scary natural disaster, and those that live in susceptible areas make preparations to protect themselves as best they can. However, many animals are affected negatively by hurricanes and will not survive even after it's over. Media attention is often focused on the effects on people, but pets are helpless without receiving aid from humans to escape. Wildlife is gravely affected as well.

Wildlife After a Hurricane

Typically, before a hurricane strikes, wildlife sense that there is danger and they seek higher ground. However, if these animals are confined and have nowhere to go, they may attempt to hide during the hurricane. Depending on how powerful the storm, they may or may not survive. Often it is the effects of the hurricane that can be devastating to wildlife. Many depend on plant life for food and this can be washed away or inedible after a hurricane, leaving wildlife with no sources of food.

Birds typically fly as far from the hurricane as possible.  However, if birds in the path of destruction have nests with babies that are unable to fly, they would not be able to survive the initial hurricane if it was severe, such as Katrina.

How Pets are Affected 

One of the reasons so many people perished during Hurricane Katrina is because the residents were not allowed to take their pets, particularly dogs and cats. People consider their pets as part of the family, so they stayed behind and many perished right along with their pets. After Katrina, new evacuation measures went into place in hurricane prone areas to allow people to take their pets with them or know that they are being safely removed to a shelter where they can claim them after the storm.

If you have pets and live in an area that is predicted to have a hurricane heading your way, the best thing to do is to evacuate the area early so that both you and you pets are safe.