Lack of rain puts animals on the move.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dry weather like what has hit northeast Florida over the past few weeks is known to bring Florida’s wildlife out, especially reptiles.

If it doesn’t start raining soon, it’s likely residents will see a lot more snakes and other wildlife on the move. Heather Ogler, who enjoys taking her children outside in the sun, said she’s worried about their safety knowing the drought may bring the wildlife out. Ogler said she’s had wildlife coming close to her family’s home in her Fernandina Beach neighborhood.” Two separate occasions we had two bobcats come and look into the house,” she said.

As the skies remain clear and blue and the rain sparse, animal experts said it’s likely residents may have similar experiences to what Ogler described. “It does appear that it is happening more often, especially with the gators more so than the snakes,” said Dino Ferri, a reptile expert at the Jacksonville Zoo. Ferri said he hasn’t necessarily seen a change in animal behavior, but is hearing about it from other experts. A snake was spotted outside Channel 4’s building Monday night. While Ferri believes it is a nonvenomous water snake, he said it was probably searching for a larger body of water than the ponds near the TV station. Encountering animals in not-so-wild places isn’t uncommon, but many animal experts believe wildlife encounters may be on the rise if rain doesn’t fall soon.