Animals and disasters...

[Gooberlx2]

from here and here

Where Are All the Dead Animals? Sri Lanka Asks

Wed Dec 29, 4:41 AM ET

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan wildlife officials are stunned -- the worst tsunami in memory has killed around 22,000 people along the Indian Ocean island's coast, but they can't find any dead animals.

Giant waves washed floodwaters up to 2 miles inland at Yala National Park in the ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards.

"The strange thing is we haven't recorded any dead animals," H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of the national Wildlife Department, told Reuters Wednesday.

"No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit," he added. "I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening."

At least 40 tourists, including nine Japanese, were drowned.

The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean Sunday, which sent waves up to 15 feet high crashing onto Sri Lanka's southern, eastern and northern seaboard, flooding whole towns and villages, destroying hotels and causing widespread destruction.

That's kinda surprising, and atleast some small amount of comforting news in the wake of this disaster. I'd be curious as to how well animals fared in other areas that were hit, like Sumatra (which has it's own species of endangered tiger, for instance). I wonder if any real research has been done on the "sixth-sense" of animals, 'cause there's ALWAYS reports of animals acting funny right before some natural disaster. My own cats got wierd just before an earthquake when I lived in Cali, a long time ago.

 

[SWScorch]

It's widely known that animals can "predict" earthquakes and there are reports of deer and other animals spazzing out shortly before them. Apparently they can feel minor vibrations in the crust or something. This would explain why no dead animals have been found; they all felt the incoming quake/waves and hauled ass.

 

[mobobuff]

:: Insert Noah's Ark reference here ::

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

A hint

Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming swimming swimming
What do we do we swim, swim, swim
OH HO HO How I love to swim
When you WAAAAAANNTTT to swim you want to swim

 

[Kyteland]

One news report I heard on the radio last night was that they were finding people crushed between the bodies of dead animals. I find it hard to believe that no animals died because of the waves/flooding.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Kyteland
One news report I heard on the radio last night was that they were finding people crushed between the bodies of dead animals. I find it hard to believe that no animals died because of the waves/flooding.

I'm sure plenty of animals died in other places. I'm guessing they had room to run in this particular park.

 

[PanzerIV]

At least there is one good thing to come out of this in one area that was affected. Good news over there is hard to come by these days.

 

[SchrodingersDog]

The earthquake was set off by the beings that have been living in the abyss. They used the resulting waves to bring them new landlubber samples.

 

[MisterJackson]

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
The earthquake was set off by the beings that have been living in the abyss. They used the resulting waves to bring them new landlubber samples.

Kinda tasteless ahole.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: MisterJackson

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
The earthquake was set off by the beings that have been living in the abyss. They used the resulting waves to bring them new landlubber samples.

Kinda tasteless ahole.

agreed.

 

[AdamSnow]

My dog can sence a storm coming... and many cats can... so I belive it... that's really cool...