Also Displaced by Mississippi River Flooding: Snakes and Alligators

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Residents paddle a boat past houses being swallowed up by floodwater May 7, 2011 in Memphis, Tennessee.

They’re seeking dry land, too. And that could mean inside your house.

They typically coexist peacefully with residents, far away from their neighborhoods and subdivisions. But the rising waters are pushing wildlife to higher ground, leading animals – deer, snakes and even alligators – to seek shelter in city centers across the South.

PHOTOS: See the Mississippi River cresting in Memphis

A snake slithers in the Memphis floodwaters.

White-tailed deer dodging traffic and cottonmouth snakes slithering on sidewalks are a few of the common sights in Memphis as the Mississippi River crests in the town, leaving low-lying and riverfront areas completely washed out. “You’ll see your wildlife moving and, of course, their nature is to move to the higher, drier ground… We’ll see this for another couple of weeks,” Bob Nations, Director of Shelby County Tennessee’s Office of Preparedness, told ABC News.

Downriver in Vicksburg, Mississippi, alligators threatened by floodwaters looked for new places to sun themselves – which included atop the levees helping to keep the rising river from ravaging the town. One Vicksburg resident said she saw dozens of alligators basking on levees and “strolling” around nearby homes.

You certainly can brace for possible flooding – but we’re not quite sure you can ever prepare for snakes or alligators in your home.

LIST: Charities that are helping victims of Southern floods and tornadoes