1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,320 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogle bomb here. When Hurricane Florence hit the East 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: coast of the United States in September eighteen, it caused 4 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: great damage to life and livelihood in North Carolina. Flooding 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: killed many farm animals estimates range in the millions, but 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: not all animals in the area were lost to the storm. 7 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,319 Speaker 1: For almost five centuries, herds of feral horses have lived 8 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: on the tar Heel States Barrier Islands, thought to be 9 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: descended from mustangs brought over by Spanish explorers. These outer 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: Banks equines are beloved by the community and enjoy government protections, 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: and it turns out they're also quite storm savvy. Census 12 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: has taken after Hurricane Florence showed that while some individuals 13 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: remain unaccounted for, a large majority of these horses did 14 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: weather the storm. Why did the Barrier Island Why did 15 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: these Barrier Islands horses survive Florence when so many farm 16 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: animals perished, And how to other animal species normally react 17 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,959 Speaker 1: to hurricanes. More than one hundred of North Carolina's free 18 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: roaming beach horses live on Cape Lookout National Seashore, A 19 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: preserve encompassing three hundred different barrier islands. Florence was by 20 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: no means their first rodeo when it comes to major hurricanes. 21 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: As park biologists Sue Stuska reminded the Associated Press, the 22 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,199 Speaker 1: horses have been riding out tempests for hundreds of years, 23 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: Well attuned two changes in the weather. They instinctively seek 24 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: out high ground during floods and take refuge in thickly 25 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: vegetated areas once the winds get violent. Deaths can occur 26 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: during some strong storms, but the wild herds of the 27 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,839 Speaker 1: outer Banks enjoy a high overall survival rate. Unfortunately, many 28 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: animal populations cannot make the same claim. Hurricanes and the 29 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: floods they produce are notoriously hard on coast hugging shrimp, crabs, 30 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: and oysters. The invertebrates have evolved to live in waters 31 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: with specific salinity levels. When runoff from hurricane generated floods 32 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: pours into bays and estuaries, the percentage of salt in 33 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:00,040 Speaker 1: the water goes down. That decrease often ends up killing 34 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: scores of oysters, shrimp, and other sea dwelling organisms. Texas 35 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: fishermen witness to this problem firsthand after Hurricane Harvey did 36 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: a number on delicate Gulf coast ecosystems. There are, however, 37 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: marine creatures who proactively steer clear of hurricanes. Sharks can 38 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: pick up on pressure changes in the water column and 39 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: detect water borne vibrations using a network of canals and 40 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: pores embedded in their skin. This same system alerts them 41 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: to oncoming storms. Barometric air pressure drops shortly before hurricane 42 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: or tropical storm hits. Upon sensing this, young black tip sharks, 43 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: who normally live in shallow bays, will flee into the 44 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: relative safety of deep offshore waters. They then come back 45 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,239 Speaker 1: after the tempest passes. Going deep as a fine tactic 46 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,079 Speaker 1: for sharks, but it's not an option for swimming mammals 47 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: like dolphins or sea turtles, who must surface in order 48 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: to breathe. It's also less than ideal for the inhabitants 49 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 1: of lakes, swamps, and river systems. Alligators often drown or 50 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: are killed by flying debris during storm searches. To stay safe, 51 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: they may clamber onto driveways and backyard porches that manage 52 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: to remain above the water level, much to the chagrin 53 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,639 Speaker 1: of some homeowners, above the heads of gaiters and other 54 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 1: ground dwelling creatures are boreal squirrels face their own set 55 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,519 Speaker 1: of problems. High speed hurricane winds are liable to strip 56 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: trees of their nuts, imperiling the mammal's food supply. Furthermore, 57 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: powerful storms blow baby squirrels out of their parents tree 58 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: based nests. Hurricane Irene saddled wildlife rehabilitation groups with hundreds 59 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: of orphaned newborn squirrels who had been evicted from their nests, 60 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: and when Hurricane Hugo leveled South Carolina forests, the natural 61 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: disaster almost wiped out the world's largest population of endangered 62 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: red cocketed woodpeckers, a species dependent on living pines. Birds 63 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,839 Speaker 1: respond to hurricanes in lots of different ways. The white 64 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: threaded sparrow, for instance, keeps tabs on barometric pressure and 65 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: will postpone its fall or spring migration to avoid oncoming 66 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: storms if necessary. Many av species take on the exhausting 67 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: challenge of flying directly into the eye of a hurricane 68 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: and then keeping pace with it as the tempest gradually 69 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: dies down. Understandably, some birds that attempt this are overcome 70 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: by fatigue before the storm subsides, and living in captivity 71 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily safeguard beasts against the ravages of natural disasters. 72 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,599 Speaker 1: Despite the valiant efforts of farmers across North Carolina, the 73 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: state lost millions of livestock animals to Hurricane Florence. Blocked roads, 74 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: flooded barns, power failures, and broken dams hindered rescue efforts. 75 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: If there's a silver lining to be found here, it's 76 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: the fact that certain animals have turned storms like Hurricane 77 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: Florence into opportunities. Consider the Eastern spade foot toad. This 78 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: secret of amphibian likes to breed in temporary ponds where 79 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: fish and other aquatic predators can't easily catch it. Such 80 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: short lived bodies of water become common after heavy rains. 81 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 1: For that very reason, the toads reproduce like crazy in 82 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: the wake of hurricanes at a time when amphibian population 83 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,679 Speaker 1: sans are declining all over the world. That's an encouraging 84 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: thing to see. Also, hurricanes may be forcing reptiles to 85 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: get a grip. Literally animals are a group of New 86 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:16,359 Speaker 1: World lizards who climb walls with adhesive TOPADSEN study argued 87 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: that one species might be evolving shorter hind legs and 88 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: longer topads. This body plan could make it easier for 89 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: the lizards to cling onto tree limbs while hurricane force 90 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 1: winds are blowing. Today's episode was written by Mark Fancini 91 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and 92 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: lots of other weathered topics, visit our home planet, hows 93 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: to works dot com.