Around 70 wild animals rescued amid Texas flooding
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Wildlife Rescue said it has rescued around 70 animals since the deadly Independence Day flash flooding around Central Texas.
Austin Wildlife Rescue (AWR) said this time of year is "baby season" for many wildlife creatures, and the major storms most impacted those that create nests or dens on the ground.
"While wildlife is adapted to handle life out in the wild, unprecedented or unusual weather impacts our native wildlife very much," AWR said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
The rescue team said it received many baby skunks, baby rabbits and baby opossums that arrived with scrapes, bumps, bruises and fractured legs.
The team also helped a waterlogged killdeer that they said arrived extremely exhausted but relatively unharmed. After drying off all day in an incubator, the killdeer fluffed back up to health.
AWR said animals up in trees were experiencing trouble as well, with heavy rain knocking squirrels out of branches and birds out of nests.
The rise of water levels in lakes, creeks, rivers and dams is also causing some confusion amongst aquatic species. AWR said it rescued a large snapping turtle with an injured eye and a limp on its back leg. X-rays showed no fractures, and the turtle was resting comfortably in a safe space.
The AWR team said they are continuing efforts to rescue as many injured or displaced animals, but need help from the community to do so.