Most Ohio wildlife unflappable amid floodwaters
While late summer flooding has left many Ohioans with basements full of water or worse, the state’s wildlife appear to be doing just fine, despite an overabundance of precipitation.
These floods, however, illustrate wildlife’s adaptability and resilience to nature’s occasional disruptions.
Fish, for example, are minimally impacted by rushing waters brought on by heavy rains. “Those in reservoirs simply swim out into the river or tail waters below,” says Phil Hillman, a state fisheries biologist. He notes that walleye, sauger and saugeye (a sauger/walleye cross) are especially adept at migrating under high-water conditions.
Perhaps the greatest “danger” that fish face is getting trapped in culverts or ditches as the floodwaters recede. When that happens, they become easy meals for a variety of birds and mammals.
Of course, given that water is the natural habitat for fish, it’s no surprise they don’t get too stirred up when flooding occurs, but what about wetland mammals, such as otters, beavers and muskrats?
Because otters are nomadic creatures, wetland wildlife experts say these adaptable creatures simply move to fringe areas on higher ground. Another otter advantage is that they can go for several days without food.
On the other hand, flooding definitely impacts beavers and muskrats since their diet consists largely of vegetation growing in and around their lake, stream or marsh-edge homes.
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Beavers can survive on bark and twigs.
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Beavers Beavers do have an advantage in that they can survive on the bark and twigs of softwood trees, such as poplar, maple and cottonwood. Muskrats, however, rely more on aquatic vegetation, such as cattail roots.
Another interesting note, beaver lodges are so well built that most can withstand the torrent of floodwaters.
Did you know that when push comes to shove, just about all wildlife can swim – even such an unlikely species as the wild turkey?!
A variety of Ohio’s wild animals have little to worry about when the floodwaters flow. White-tailed deer, wild turkey, and upland game such as pheasants and rabbits have no problem staying high and dry during such troublesome times.
As you might expect, other species that do well when flooding occurs include wintering waterfowl, such as black ducks and mallards. These flexible flyers happily move into flooded farm fields where they dine on leftover crops and other vegetation.
From an ecological stand point, floods can have a positive impact on the environment. They aid in seed dispersal as well as deposit nutrient-rich sediments onto the floodplain, which nourishes the soil used by plants, animals and farmers.
There’s no getting around the fact that floods can be destructive forces, yet it’s reassuring to know that Ohio’s wildlife can successfully survive such unexpected rigors of nature.