Alligator Sanctuary Founder Warns Which Wild Animals Floridians Should Beware of After a Hurricane Hits (Exclusive)

Christopher Gillette is doing what so many Floridians are doing today — getting prepared.

Instead of preparing a home, though, Gillette is hard at work on hurricane preparations for the animals at Bellowing Acres Sanctuary ahead of Hurricane Milton, sharing some of his work in a video on Instagram.

"We're definitely worried about it but we're in a pretty good zone at the moment," Gillette begins, addressing how the alligators at the sanctuary are prepped for the storm.

"They just go in the water. Just like their wild counterparts, through the hurricane, these guys will be going underwater."

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Gillette explains that gators can hold their breath for that six hours at a time.

"They're going to go down, slow their heartrate down, and literally hold their breath for six hours. That's what they do in inclement weather like that — just sit on the bottom and wait it out. We've got ponds they're in that are six feet deep, so they'll be perfectly fine in there."

While his fencing is pretty sound, there's also extra fencing around the perimeter should falling trees cause any issues. Gillette assures, "Our adult alligators and crocodiles will be totally fine through the hurricane, we'll be bringing birds and some of the smaller animals into the house, but these big guys? They're going to be fine and happy."

In the days following Hurricane Milton, Gillette tells PEOPLE Floridians should keep an eye out for animals as they step back outside of their homes to evaluate damage and being clean-up.

"There will be many displaced animals that people have to watch out for, including snakes on the ground. They can be easy to miss when they're among all of the fallen branches on the ground. People need to be really careful navigating areas in the aftermath," he explains.

In a second video, Gillette urges Floridians to "please be compassionate to the animals, many animals will be flooded out of their homes and seeking refuge in unusual places!"

The intensity of the storm has changed a number of times in the last 24 hours, with Milton intensifying to a Category 4 on the morning of Monday, Oct. 7, before being upgraded to a Category 5 on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 8.

According to the National Hurricane Center’s advisory, as of 10 a.m. CDT on Oct. 8, the center of Milton is forecasted to move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico and reach the west-central coast of Florida through Oct. 9. As of this update, the hurricane currently sits about 500 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla., with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph.