Photo by Robert Vanderpool/US Fish & Wildlife Service

Surviving a wildfire

Most wild animals out ran wildfires that ravaged thousands of acres this summer near the Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina.
“They smell the smoke, and they head in the other direction,” said Bonnie Strawser, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The fire, sparked by a lightning strike on private land June 1, devoured more than 40,000 acres as firefighters struggled to contain it.
Deer, bear and birds that fledged before the fire would have no difficulty escaping the flames, state biologists said.
“That’s not to say we’re not losing any animals,” Strawser said. Burrowing animals such as turtles, groundhogs and voles likely suffered fatalities, as did young birds. Wildlife officials, who look at populations rather than individual animals, said wildlife populations often increase after a fire because of the new growth. “As bad as this fire may appear, with the smoke and the heat, there may be good that can come out of it,” said Tommy Hughes, a biologist with the Wildlife Resources Commission, in a press release. “Smoky and nasty as this fire is, the animals are getting out of there, and there is an abundance of habitat that is created for some species