Animals and Disasters: Responding When Landscapes Change
When extreme weather reshapes the landscape, burrows fill with water. Nesting sites disappear. Eggs are washed away. Forest floors become inaccessible. Animals are forced towards unfamiliar spaces in search of higher ground.
As heavy monsoon rains and flooding affect Mumbai and surrounding areas, these disruptions become more frequent. Our partners at SARRP and Green Works Trust (GWT) work on the ground, responding to rescue calls while navigating challenging conditions. We spoke to SARRP founder Santosh Shinde and GWT’s Programme Lead Sarvesh Abhyankar and field worker Susheel Asode to understand how extreme weather affects wildlife and what animal rescue teams encounter while responding on the ground.
When the landscape changes, animals move too
GWT's Programme Lead Sarvesh estimates that around 90% of GWT's rescue calls involve reptiles. This is because reptiles may seek out dry, warm, or elevated spaces when the ground is wet and temperatures change,, bringing these animals closer to human settlements.
Snakes often move from forested areas towards urban locations during this time, creating risks for both humans and the animal. Crocodile rescues also increase during floods, Santosh highlights; overflowing water bodies can bring crocodiles into urban and densely populated areas, creating public safety issues.
Sometimes, the best rescue is no rescue
One example Sarvesh shared illustrates animal behaviour.
During heavy rains in Mazgaon, a spectacled cobra was found repeatedly moving towards an overhead tank. GWT volunteers quickly responded to the call and secured the location. They realised that while this behaviour may seem threatening to a resident, from the animal's perspective, an elevated, dry space can become a refuge when the ground is waterlogged. Seeing that sometimes intervention may not be necessary, they convinced the locals to let the cobra be,
Floods and heavy rain create another challenge: animals that look distressed may not necessarily be injured. Susheel shared the example of an Orange-headed Thrush found after heavy rain.
“The bird could not fly. Concerned public assumed that it was injured and called for help. The bird was rescued and observed, only to realise that it was healthy and was just trying to dry itself. It was eventually released at the same location.”
The incident highlights an important principle: observation is often the first intervention. Members of the public should maintain a safe distance, avoid handling or crowding the animal, and contact a trained rescuer or the relevant forest authorities.
The Effort Behind Every Rescue
For SARRP and GWT, disaster response means being ready for situations they cannot always anticipate. During heavy rain, the number of rescue calls can rise sharply, while weather makes familiar routes difficult to navigate. Teams may have to walk through water or travel long distances, often at odd hours.
During such periods, essential equipment is kept ready and carried by the teams. But equipment alone cannot prepare them for every situation. Each response requires trained judgement—not only about whether an animal needs intervention, but also about how it should be transported and, where appropriate, released.
Both SARRP and GWT also emphasise the importance of releasing rescued wildlife according to established scientific protocols. Animals cannot simply be transported far away because that appears to be the easiest solution; the appropriate response depends on the species, its condition and the circumstances of the rescue.
Sarvesh recalls an Olive Ridley Turtle rescue that presented a new challenge. The turtle needed urgent medical care and had to be transported to a distant rehabilitation centre. Before moving it, the team consulted experts on the risks and necessary precautions, including keeping its face moist throughout the journey. Being prepared means knowing how to respond to whatever the situation demands.
The role of communities
For SARRP and GWT, rescue is closely connected to awareness. They have worked with communities through awareness programmes to help people recognise and understand animal behaviour.
SARRP puts out calls for volunteers during periods of heavy rain and flooding, asking people to remain alert and keep a lookout. Volunteers help identify bird nests, nesting sites and other vulnerable locations exposed to disturbance, allowing the rescue team to respond before a situation becomes critical.
GWT has conducted awareness sessions across more than 18 schools and installed posters in 42 villages across multiple locations over the years. According to Susheel, this outreach has resulted in the team now receiving rescue calls from more than 30 villages.
Rescue is a team effort
Behind every successful rescue is a network of people.
There are the field staff who receive calls, veterinarians who treat injured animals, forest officials who coordinate access and releases, community members who are the first responders, and organisations that invest in capacity building before the emergency.
For SARRP and GWT, this can mean being ready to respond at short notice. Rescuers need the right resources and relationships with communities to reach animals quickly.
The work is often invisible once the waters recede. Yet the preparation behind it—training teams, equipping rescuers, building community trust and coordinating with authorities—is what makes a timely response possible.
Supporting the people who respond
The experiences of SARRP and GWT show that animal welfare and disaster preparedness are inseparable. When extreme weather disrupts human communities, animals are affected too.
For Upadhyaya Foundation, this reflects a broader understanding of disaster response: people, animals and ecosystems are interconnected. Supporting communities through a disaster can also mean recognising the animals that share those landscapes and livelihoods.
Our partnerships with organisations such as SARRP and GWT allow us to support people already doing this work on the ground, building community awareness, strengthening rescue capacity, and responding when animals are caught in situations they cannot navigate alone.
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