Thought about this recently while driving south on I-65 and looking at last year's tornado damage.

In the areas hit by verified tornadoes that destroy buildings, wreck forests, cross lakes and streams, etc., what happens to the deer and turkeys, or other animals?

Some like skunks or possums I suspect could find a hole or get under a rock. But what about turkeys in trees or deer, yotes and bobcats?

Do they get sucked into the tornado and killed? Do any of you who have property or live near and area severely hit see a void in the wildlife populations for a while?

Just wondering.

Good question Clem.

I've often wondered the same thing and I would imagine some animals are killed but the ones that are left behind, prosper in the newly generated lush browse and vegetation that is a result of more sunlight on the ground.

Mother Nature, in her weather-related destruction has a plan.

deer should survive pretty well, and the aftermath leaves them a lot of food, even if it makes it harder to hunt those areas.

turkeys, not so much. I'd guess if a tornado hit at night it would probably kill some of those directly in the path. Lots of damage by a hurricane would make the habitat not as suitable for turkeys. And even worse for future turkey hunting there.

I agree. Our property, in regards to turkeys, is just now bouncing back after a bad wind storm came through4-5 years ago during the spring. Went from a fair amount of turkeys to none overnight. I've seen 10-12 this year. Incidentally this is in Winston County and we only have a 2 week season this year so someone is paying attention in Montgomery.

I'm talking mostly about bonafide tornadoes on the ground, destroying forests, snapping trees, demolishing houses and wreaking the havoc that we see in places like Rainsville, Tuscaloosa, Cullman, Hackleburg, etc.

But that's interesting, joshm28, that it's taken 4-5 years.

If straight-line winds or tornadoes can snap giant trees in half and obliterate a house, I don't see how a deer or turkey could survive with a tornado churnin' and burnin' on the ground.

Where do you see 14 day Turkey season for Winston County?

I've radio-tracked quail during severe hurricanes with winds in excess of 120 mph and we lost very few (1 or 2% died or disappeared), however, turkeys roosting in trees at night probably see higher direct mortality. During the day, not so much. We have found a few dead critters hit by falling trees after wind events like this, but it would have to be a direct hit to kill an animal on the ground. Again, turkeys in trees would be different.

Aftermath, habitat wise, deer probably like it, turkeys hate it, other critters probably don't care either way.

It's an interesting question. After Ivan knocked over some of our pine stands...we saw less hogs and deer for a couple years. Nothing sceintific...just personal observations.

I would think Turkeys would risk a night time(semi-controlled) flydown before it got too bad to blow them out of the tree. I suppose a fast moving tornado could catch them off guard.


From a professional standpoint I have surveyed dozens of tornadoes...probably more than 300 miles of track(s) and have never encountered a dead animal(or human knock on wood) with the exception of chickens in Chicken Houses.

Tornadoes hate Chickens:




I have heard of cows being killed by tornadoes, but never seen it. I did see 5 cows struck dead by lightning once.

I'm no expert, but I've got some experience being around tornadoes.

Since 1998, three have left a path of destruction within 3.5 miles of my house. The worst was an F-5 in '98. Then in April of last year, the F-4 that hit Tuscaloosa came thru Concord. In January of this year, an F-3 tracked from across the Warrior River to between Rock Creek and Alliance.

I was with Skywarn in '98, and was stormspotting a couple of miles from home. Just before the storm hit, I counted 6 or 8 snakes crossing the rural road I was on as I switched locations to get a better view. Later, someone connected with the University of Alabama heard about my experience and asked me to send him a written account of seeing all those snakes before the storm hit to include in a study they were conducting. He felt like the odd behavior of the snakes might have been connected to the unusual behavior others had observed in animals prior to earthquakes.

After the F-5 destroyed much of our community, there were several stray dogs that showed up at our house that was damaged, but not destroyed. I can't remember anyone telling us about losing their pets in the storm. Within a few days, all the dogs had left. I assume they found their ways back home, or where home had been.

My wife and neighbors were in our basement with several children taking cover from the storm as it passed. My wife could feel the concrete floor of our basement vibrating as the edge of the storm passed within 1/8 mile. Our house was damaged by the winds being sucked into the storm, and by the debris from our neighbor's homes that were being destroyed.

The F-5 was just less than 1/2 mile wide, which is large for a tornado. If you think about it, wildlife may have instincts that we are unaware of that help them know to flee from the path of a tornado, or the sub-sonic sounds or vibrations as it approaches may be detected by their senses that are different from ours. A sudden drop in barametric pressure might be the key. A 1/4 to 1/2 mile isn't far to go to get out of the way for most wildlife.

On another note, I found a dead 6 pt. buck under a polular tree that had been struck by lightning during the summer a few years ago. There was a circle of dead vegetation about 12 feet in diameter around the tree, and the dead deer was laying within that area near the tree.

I agree with 49er. I think animals can sense bad weather way before it comes and act/ move accordingly.

Are yall saying we should get monkeys to forecast the wather?

Wait, I thought we already did

I guess that was an underhanded softball pitch wasn't it.

However I don't think a monkey could have given those folks in the Plains 6 days heads-up on that mess last night.

Relative to even a 1000 acre piece of property, a tornado, even big ones like last year, cover a very small path in reference to a wildlife population. A landowner may have a small parcel completly destroyed, but the wildlife that used his property, was using that land, and all of his neighbors as well. The two big game species we are most concerned about, deer and turkey, can't just rely on the small strip of land a tornado hits before a storm, therefore, it doesn't really affect regional game populations after the storm either. If you only have 20 acres, and the entire piece was leveled, then you surely have significant changes. But from a management or population standpoint - tornadoes are just another piece (tiny percentage) of natural mortality.

Our land took a direct hit from a tornadoe during the outbreak last april. The path through our property is about 50-75 yards wide and 1 mile long.The path created a nice bedding area right through the middle of our property. We saw and had more pictures of mature bucks this year than in the past. The turkey numbers are still good also, but we still have big timber standing. We have not found any dead animals on our property, not saying there are none we just didnt see any.

The loggers that cleared the storm timber on our place after hurricane Ivan said they found alot of dead turkeys. We haven't had huntable population since. Too much lost habitat.

Just like people and cattle, deer are killed by tornadoes. Most tornado related deaths are caused by impact with heavy objects (either the person/animal hitting an object as they are being thrown by the tornado, or an object airborn stricking the person/animal). Also, being impaled by small flying objects can be quite lethal. And it doesn't have to be a "hard' object. I've seen numerous instances of grass blades impaling trees and walls, and recently even a thin piece of cardboard cutting half-way through a brick wall.

Animals certainly have the ability to notice and react to the approach of large storm systems, especially hurricanes ("feel" the drop in atmospheric pressure) but their reactions are usually just increased feeding activity in anticipation of possible long-term disruptions in food availability. The pressure drop associated with a tornado is so localized that by the time an animal/person felt it, it is too late. Considering in most Southeastern tornado outbreaks the forward speed of the tornado is so great (often 40-70 MPH) that an animal would not be able to get out of the way before the tornado overtakes them. In addition, would they have the cognitive ability to understand how to get out of the way of a tornado? Considering most people don't, I doubt an animal would.

Tornado damage can be the best natural habitat available for deer. I've seen several properties that were greatly improved for deer production by tornado damage. In future years, lots of food and cover production.

i live in NE Madison county near new market. on 3/2/12, a confirmed F2 passed very, very near my home. i was home when it came through and very easily heard it and felt my ears pop but didn't actually see the funnel. me and my neighbors all sustained damage ranging from fairly minor to catastrophic (one neighbors house completly blown away). i had about $35k in damages. prior to the storms, i had been hearing several gobblers nearly every morning in the woods by my house. this was exciting because it was the first time in my 13 years there to hear gobblers in those woods. i haven't heard a peep from them since. there where many trees uprooted and/or broke off in those woods. i don't know if the turkeys were killed or maybe displaced, but it's another sad chapter in that story. we've got tons of deer all around us out there. i haven't seen any lately, but that's typical for spring with all the food in the woods. i'm pretty sure the deer escaped pretty good and are probably benefitting from the canopy opening up.

oh yeah, tornados suck!!