Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, Lauren Vogle bomb here. When Hurricane Florence hit the East coast of the United States in September eighteen, it caused great damage to life and livelihood in North Carolina. Flooding killed many farm animals estimates range in the millions, but not all animals in the area were lost to the storm. For almost five centuries, herds of feral horses have lived on the tar Heel States Barrier Islands, thought to be
descended from mustangs brought over by Spanish explorers. These outer Banks equines are beloved by the community and enjoy government protections, and it turns out they're also quite storm savvy. Census has taken after Hurricane Florence showed that while some individuals remain unaccounted for, a large majority of these horses did
weather the storm. Why did the Barrier Island Why did these Barrier Islands horses survive Florence when so many farm animals perished, And how to other animal species normally react to hurricanes. More than one hundred of North Carolina's free roaming beach horses live on Cape Lookout National Seashore, A preserve encompassing three hundred different barrier islands. Florence was by no means their first rodeo when it comes to major hurricanes.
As park biologists Sue Stuska reminded the Associated Press, the horses have been riding out tempests for hundreds of years, Well attuned two changes in the weather. They instinctively seek out high ground during floods and take refuge in thickly vegetated areas once the winds get violent. Deaths can occur during some strong storms, but the wild herds of the outer Banks enjoy a high overall survival rate. Unfortunately, many
animal populations cannot make the same claim. Hurricanes and the floods they produce are notoriously hard on coast hugging shrimp, crabs, and oysters. The invertebrates have evolved to live in waters with specific salinity levels. When runoff from hurricane generated floods pours into bays and estuaries, the percentage of salt in the water goes down. That decrease often ends up killing
scores of oysters, shrimp, and other sea dwelling organisms. Texas fishermen witness to this problem firsthand after Hurricane Harvey did a number on delicate Gulf coast ecosystems. There are, however, marine creatures who proactively steer clear of hurricanes. Sharks can pick up on pressure changes in the water column and detect water borne vibrations using a network of canals and pores embedded in their skin. This same system alerts them
to oncoming storms. Barometric air pressure drops shortly before hurricane or tropical storm hits. Upon sensing this, young black tip sharks, who normally live in shallow bays, will flee into the relative safety of deep offshore waters. They then come back after the tempest passes. Going deep as a fine tactic for sharks, but it's not an option for swimming mammals like dolphins or sea turtles, who must surface in order to breathe. It's also less than ideal for the inhabitants
of lakes, swamps, and river systems. Alligators often drown or are killed by flying debris during storm searches. To stay safe, they may clamber onto driveways and backyard porches that manage to remain above the water level, much to the chagrin of some homeowners, above the heads of gaiters and other ground dwelling creatures are boreal squirrels face their own set of problems. High speed hurricane winds are liable to strip
trees of their nuts, imperiling the mammal's food supply. Furthermore, powerful storms blow baby squirrels out of their parents tree based nests. Hurricane Irene saddled wildlife rehabilitation groups with hundreds of orphaned newborn squirrels who had been evicted from their nests, and when Hurricane Hugo leveled South Carolina forests, the natural disaster almost wiped out the world's largest population of endangered red cocketed woodpeckers, a species dependent on living pines. Birds
respond to hurricanes in lots of different ways. The white threaded sparrow, for instance, keeps tabs on barometric pressure and will postpone its fall or spring migration to avoid oncoming storms if necessary. Many av species take on the exhausting challenge of flying directly into the eye of a hurricane and then keeping pace with it as the tempest gradually
dies down. Understandably, some birds that attempt this are overcome by fatigue before the storm subsides, and living in captivity doesn't necessarily safeguard beasts against the ravages of natural disasters. Despite the valiant efforts of farmers across North Carolina, the state lost millions of livestock animals to Hurricane Florence. Blocked roads, flooded barns, power failures, and broken dams hindered rescue efforts.
If there's a silver lining to be found here, it's the fact that certain animals have turned storms like Hurricane Florence into opportunities. Consider the Eastern spade foot toad. This secret of amphibian likes to breed in temporary ponds where fish and other aquatic predators can't easily catch it. Such short lived bodies of water become common after heavy rains. For that very reason, the toads reproduce like crazy in the wake of hurricanes at a time when amphibian population
sans are declining all over the world. That's an encouraging thing to see. Also, hurricanes may be forcing reptiles to get a grip. Literally animals are a group of New World lizards who climb walls with adhesive TOPADSEN study argued that one species might be evolving shorter hind legs and longer topads. This body plan could make it easier for the lizards to cling onto tree limbs while hurricane force winds are blowing. Today's episode was written by Mark Fancini
and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other weathered topics, visit our home planet, hows to works dot com.