After the Storm, Here Come the Alligators
If the pair of hurricanes that just stormed through Florida and environs wasn’t biblical enough, now comes the wildlife – especially alligators. In the storms’ aftermath, humans are coming face to face with displaced gators in the debris and floodwaters.
A North Fort Myers resident filmed one such creature lunging at his car. “He just bit our tire!” the driver yells, as the animal snaps at the wheel and door of the vehicle before slipping back into the water. Another gator in Hillsborough County found refuge on a front porch, while the Collier County Sheriff's Office drone captured footage of an alligator floating placidly on a street that had become a waterway.
Besides alligators, animals to avoid after a big storm in Florida include stingrays, snakes, and even bears, which may be on the prowl for food caught up in the debris. Some of the dangerous organisms stirred up by volatile weather might not actually be visible.
“You should be worried about microscopic organisms and bacteria,” Frank Robb, alligator expert and founder of Environmental Education Awareness Research Support and Services, tells NewsNation. “Pathogens and things of that nature that should really be on people’s mind.”
Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has dedicated web pages, including an instructional video, on how to avoid conflicts with wildlife after a storm. The gist: “The best way people can stay safe and help wildlife under storm conditions is to be alert and give wildlife their space.”
The agency has posted info on manatees, sea turtles, and the red-cockaded woodpecker, among other creatures disrupted by powerful storms. There’s even a note on fire ants, which cling together in a ball that can float – and travel – in a flood. (As when the weather is fine, the advice here is that “it’s best to avoid the ants.”)
If you happen to come across a toothy interloper where it ought not be, call the commission’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR.
Photo credit: Lais Queiroz / Pexels
