Wild animals find ways to escape, survive Fort Mac fire

The curator of zoology at Nova Scotia's Museum of Natural History says when it comes to escaping the wildfirein Fort McMurray, it usually goes three ways.

Andrew Hebda says some wild animals escape, some die and some take advantage of the situation and thrive.

Birds fly, moose and bear move

Animals that escapearegenerally species of birds, those that can fly, Hebdasaid.

"They don't wait until the very last second to take off but rather they see the change in conditions and they move," he said. "Those are the adults. They will take off, however, if they're nesting, the eggs and the nestlings fall into category number two."

The curator said large mammals are also well equipped to escape a wildfire, such as moose and bears.

"They're animals that are used to migrating in the first place. They tend to move. If you look at the imagery from the Fort McMurray area, there have been some large animals [moving] and they're not panicking or stampeding away. They're moving away slowly."

Animals look for clear paths

Hedba saidfire can move quickly, but not so quickly that animals can't find holes and escape routes in the wall of flames.

"Even in a very severe fire, you may get about 20 or 30 per cent of the land untouched so these animals are looking for areas that are a bit more comfortable."

Hebda said some animals will seek streams, lakes or bogs to find a safe haven. Some smaller animals will also burrow into the ground.

"In many cases, they already have their burrows to begin with."

Not all animals make it out

Hebda said research showed animals that have two exits from their burrow tend to fare better in a fire because they have better access to air. Smoke may become a problem for those animals that only have one way in and out of their burrow.

When it comes to the creatures that are most vulnerable to perish in a fire, Hebda said it's not just the baby critters that will get left behind, but parents, too.

"There are some animals that are extremely devoted to their families. For example, there's a species called a wood rat which even in the presence of extreme conditions whether it's fire or a flood they will not leave the nest. They remain there and they'll disappear."

'Opportunists' in fire

Hebda said other creatures will take advantage of the fire to enjoy a quick meal.

"Those are the opportunists," he said.

"All of a sudden, you have a supply of food. Those are animals escaping the fire. They're concentrating in a narrow band, in an area like that. So of course, that's great feeding. You don't have to hunt your prey; your prey will come to you."

Trees important

Hebda said scavengers will also feed on the carcasses of animals that perished in the flames. The fact that trees and shrubs that provide a hiding place have been burned also make it more difficult for prey to evade predators.

Hebda noted that some insects will take advantage of the fact that trees have been damaged by the fire and they'll pick trees that have been weakened to lay their eggs.

"They can detect when trees are stressed. They want to lay their eggs on a tree that's stressed so the eggs don't get glommed on by the sap."

Hebda said forest fires happen often in a boreal forest so the trees and animals have found ways to cope.

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