From cats and dogs to flamingos, we have seen domestic and zoo animals get rescued during the hurricanes that caused devastation in the US this year.
However, many wonder what happens to local wildlife, especially as Irma is taking place in exotic locations with plentiful amounts of wild animals in the sea and on land.
The World Animal Protection charity has sent emergency teams on their way to rescue, treat and care for injured animals caught in the path of Hurricane Irma.
Their spokesperson said: "Initial reports of damage are staggering. This is a storm unlike virtually no other. The scale of animal suffering is not yet known but is likely to be enormous. And the worst is yet to come."
Many humans are able to evacuate before a hurricane comes - and some animals can sense one coming and flee the area - but many are trapped in the eye of the storm.
Food supplies can be damaged, so charities have had to jet in with emergency feed. This can particularly affect squirrels, as nut supplies are swept away.
While hurricanes can be devastating to some wild animal populations, other animals manage to survive and thrive during and after the event.
Some birds manage to escape - research shows that birds can pick up on environmental changes, such as drops in barometric pressure and infrared sound.
Also, some birds migrate earlier than usual to escape a storm.
However, they don't always manage to - for example, the red-cockaded woodpeckers in South Carolina’s Marion National Forest were almost wiped out when Hurricane Hugo hit.
About 60 percent of the 500 groups of birds perished and 87 percent of the trees containing cavities where they live were destroyed.
Luckily, the surviving birds, with conservation efforts, managed to replenish the population after the storm.
Wildlife which thrives after a hurricane
The National Wildlife Federation provides a list of animals and plants which do well out of hurricanes.
- Orchids - They use the strong winds to spread their seeds.
- Gopher frogs and spadefoot toads - They use the heavy rainfall to breed.
- Raccoons - Since they are scavengers, they find new food sources in the turmoil after a hurricane.
- Black bears and ground birds - They can benefit from increased ground shelter created by downed trees and brush
Wildlife that does badly after a hurricane
According to the National Wildlife Federation, these animals can be badly hurt by hurricanes.
- Endangered species - Any animal that is on the brink of extinction due to human causes can go over the brink when a hurricane strikes their habitat.
- Migrating birds - Birds are blown off course to new habitats. Sometimes younger or weaker birds are separated from their flock. Some take weeks to return assuming they can find a food source in their new habitat.
- Coral reefs - Rainfall washes sediment and pollutants on to coral reefs, blocking out sunlight and causing algae to grow.
- Squirrels - Animal rescuers get a big influx of baby squirrels tossed from their nests because squirrels are often at their most vulnerable during hurricane season. Also squirrels' food source of nuts can be wiped out.
- Sea turtles - Their nests can be washed out to sea from beaches, and volunteers must scramble to save hatchlings before that happens.
- Fish - Electrical lines falling into water can electrocute fish. Heavy rainfall can cause sudden drops of oxygen in water. Flooding can wash sediment or larger items into streams, destroying habitat.
- Scrub jays - They depend on leafy trees to hide from predators and strong winds defoliate trees.
- Beach mice - Their dune habitats are destroyed.
- Deer - At first the deer can find food that has been blown down by the winds, but this rots and in some cases, there is not enough food left for later in the season.
- Red-cockaded woodpeckers - Since they need such specific nesting sites, the loss of any nest cavity trees can have a big impact.
- Mussels and oysters - Since they are immobile, they cannot move away from a hurricane and are sometimes blown to habitats where they cannot survive.
- Marine mammals - While many can seek shelter in open water or in nearshore shelter, some dolphins and manatees have been blown ashore.
Wildlife that sometimes does well, and sometimes does badly
- Burrowing owls - They can use their burrows to protect themselves, but sometimes the burrows get blocked by debris so they cannot exit, or the burrows are flooded by heavy rains.
- Native plants - Many native plants are adapted better to hurricanes than non-native plants. Native plants can get a boost when non-natives are damaged by hurricanes, but they can also suffer if the seeds of non-native plants are spread by hurricane winds over new areas.
- Snakes - Some can burrow and get through the hurricane easily. Other times, their burrows become flooded, or pet non-native snakes get released during the storm and compete for food.
World Animal Protection is taking donations for their relief programme here.