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Francine wind and rain displacing some local wildlife like snakes, birds

4 weeks 3 hours 26 minutes ago Friday, September 13 2024 Sep 13, 2024 September 13, 2024 7:01 PM September 13, 2024 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - The strong winds and high water from storms like Francine tend to displace wildlife, increasing interactions between humans and animals like snakes and alligators.

"Homes of these animals, they're being misplaced in their own home, which is leading them to basically have increased encounters with humans. Very commonly, things like alligators and snakes because those are things that people are a little bit more reserved around," Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana director Mark A. Mitchell said. 

In the aftermath of Francine, people online have been posting about their run-ins with the animal kingdom, with the most common of these run-ins being snakes.

People have been finding them in backyards, near trash bins, even on flooded roads.

"Making sure in the case of things like snakes especially because they can be a little intimidating to people. Looking in boxes, looking in and under around cars or sometimes you'll find them in motors because they go to places where it's warm," Mitchell said. 

It's not just snakes being found. Alligators and even fire ant colonies have been found floating in the water. That's not a joke. 

"When the water floods, they got to, you know they build in the ground so of course they got to get up and they just start piling on top of each other and they float with the current and the wind and everything else until they can find something on higher ground," Canal Bank Club general manager Anthony Gregoire said. 

Hurricanes take a toll on birds too, knocking nests from trees or leading to them showing up in unexpected territory. The Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana says over the past few days they've had birds from several species brought in for treatment and even surgery.

"Since yesterday, we've had a black skimmer, which is a bird that would come from the coast and it was found in Gonzales. We just had a juvenile ibis presented. So we're actually getting a lot of water birds that are being brought in because they're also being displaced," Mitchell said. 

If you do happen to spot something like an alligator or a snake in an unusual place, call a local wildlife expert and they will deal with it.

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