Animals affected by Hurricane Beryl in Houston

HOUSTON — Wildlife in southeast Texas was hit hard by Hurricane Beryl.

The Houston SPCA Wildlife Center has taken in more than 1,600 animals since the Category 1 storm struck and needs the public’s help to continue helping animals rehabilitate and recover.

Eight days after relief arrived, animals were still being dropped off. To put that in perspective, they usually receive between 40 and 50 animals a day. Their daily numbers have continued to exceed that number since the storm began.

“It’s exponential how much of a difference those first few days made in the number of animals we had,” said Brooke Yahney, wildlife center director for the Houston SPCA.

Last week, as Beryl was just beginning to leave the area, she and her team were in northwest Houston rescuing hundreds of baby egrets that had been blown out of their trees by Beryl’s winds in the middle of their busy nesting season.

“They couldn’t have done it alone,” Yahney said.

A day after Beryl, the Wildlife Center received over 700 animals in 24 hours. The next day, they received over 300. Over a week later, they are still receiving them.

“Some animals are coming in now, having been alone on the ground for a week,” Yahney said. “They’re not in very good shape, unfortunately.”

The baby egrets rescued last week are doing much better now. So are the baby owls, and let’s not forget the baby squirrels, who are also getting stronger. Even a baby pelican rescued off Tiki Island is starting to feel like his old self again.

The goal is to make them stable and able to thrive on their own in the wild.

“It often takes months before these babies are ready to fly,” Yahney said.

The need is so great that many animals have been transferred to other facilities across the state to make room for others on the way.

“We are grateful to the people of Houston who had the compassion to rescue the animals and bring them back,” Yahney said.

There’s still a lot of work to be done. The Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center is preparing for the long hurricane season ahead.

“We were able to get through this with the help of many volunteers,” Yahney said. “Anything they are willing to give will be beneficial to us.”

If you would like to help the SPCA, they are looking for donations of money or specific supplies. You can find more information on how to donate here.