Over the past few weeks, Hurricane Ian was one of the highlight news stories across the country. However, before the mass exodus of evacuees and purchasing sandbags and emergency supplies, marine animals and other wildlife were long gone, escaping the onslaught of heavy currents and wind. This raises the question of how animals know in advance when and where a storm will be. Although the easy answer is “they evolved to know,” there are scientific methods animals use to avoid storms. Additionally, there are other behaviors, more unexpected, of animals in hurricanes. However, the growing threats of climate change are endangering these age-old processes.
While most people learn of storms through television or phones, animals do not have that luxury (probably). Instead, sharks, manatees, and even alligators and crocodiles use many of their unique skills and talents to evade hurricanes. The storms themselves have many notable characteristics that animals use to observe the whereabouts of a storm. In the atmosphere, the barometric pressure drops significantly as the cyclone intakes a lot of air from the surrounding areas. One animal, in particular, that is well-equipped to predict the path of a storm is the shark. Sharks have sensitive inner ears which sense the change in pressure with great ease. Because of this, some small species of sharks would be in danger because the violent currents up to 300 feet below the surface could easily overpower the animal and hurt them.
However, while some smaller sharks scatter for safe waters, some larger species, like the tiger shark, seem to follow the storm. A study done during Hurricane Irma tracked tiger sharks and noted that they stayed with the hurricane. Scientists speculated that predators tend to stay with a storm because they can withstand the currents and dangers while taking advantage of prey that may be injured or killed by the storm. The study found that the population of sharks in the study area remained high for two weeks after the storm.
Besides the tiger sharks, many other animals do not have the speed, size, or agility to avoid or follow the storm. These animals, the sea snakes, alligators, frogs, and manatees, attempt to find shelter from dangerous conditions. Some, like snakes, hide in volcanic rocks, and others, like alligators, find easily accessible nooks in the rocks. However, if an individual animal does not get to a secure location, it can end up stuck in a potentially dangerous situation. For example, some manatees find their way into ponds, forests, or even flooded streets.
Despite these possible dangers, global warming is proving more dangerous than any individual hurricane. As sea temperature levels increase, the number and intensity of storms will become more destructive. The instincts of sharks, manatees, and other animals will not evolve fast enough to protect them from the dangers of hurricanes. Despite the extraordinary powers these animals have, the rapid changes due to the human-caused climate change will significantly diminish the ability of animals to adapt to defend themselves from storms.
For more information about animals in hurricanes, see this article from Popular Science magazine.
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