When Hurricane Helene roared through Florida’s Gulf Coast, residents braced for the usual coastal chaos — downed trees, flooded roads, and scattered debris.
But at Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County, something unexpected turned up in the storm ‘s aftermath: dozens of disoriented gopher tortoises, dazed and miles away from their burrows.
“It was absolutely wild,” park ranger Anna Yu told the Tampa Bay Times .
What’s happening?
Following Helene’s landfall in September, dozens of gopher tortoises were discovered wandering far from their natural sandy habitats on Egmont Key, which is located two miles away from Fort De Soto, per an April report from the Times…