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Wild animals are said to possess a sixth sense for
disasters
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Wild animals seem to have escaped the Indian Ocean tsunami, adding
weight to notions they possess a "sixth sense" for disasters,
experts said on Thursday.
Sri Lankan wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed
over 24,000 people along the Indian Ocean island's coast seemingly
missed wild beasts, with no dead animals found.
"No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit. I think
animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when
things are happening," H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri
Lanka's Wildlife Department, said on Wednesday.
The waves washed floodwaters up to 3 km (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.
"There has been a lot of anecdotal evidence about dogs barking or
birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has not
been proven," said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behaviour
specialist at Johannesburg Zoo.
"There have been no specific studies because you can't really
test it in a lab or field setting," he said.
Other authorities concurred with this assessment.
"Wildlife seem to be able to pick up certain phenomenon,
especially birds. There are many reports of birds detecting impending
disasters," said Clive Walker, who has written several books on
African wildlife.
Animals certainly rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing
to avoid danger such as predators.
The notion of an animal "sixth sense" -- or some other
mythical power -- is an enduring one which the evidence on Sri Lanka's
battered coast is likely to add to.
The Romans saw owls as omens of impending disaster and many ancient
cultures viewed elephants as sacred animals endowed with special powers
or attributes.
The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean on
Sunday. It killed tens of thousands of people in Asia and East Africa.
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上周二（12月28日），有专家表示，野生动物们似乎躲过了印度洋的海啸，这进一步证实了动物对自然灾难有“第六感”的观点。
斯里兰卡负责野生动物的官员表示，巨浪席卷印度洋海岛沿岸，淹死了两万四千多人，但野生动物似乎都幸免于难，目前尚未发现一具动物的尸体。
“没有大象丧生，甚至连野兔和兔子都活得好好的。我想动物们可以感觉到灾难即将来临。它们有第六感，能够知道海啸发生的时间。”斯里兰卡野生动物保护局副局长H·D·拉特纳亚克周三说。
海洪冲向离岸三公里（相当于二英里）远的亚拉国家公园，这里是斯里兰卡最大的野生动物保护区，生活着几百头野生大象和一些美洲豹，海啸引发的洪水使亚拉国家公园所在的东南部地区变得一片狼藉。南非约翰内斯堡动物园的动物行为专家马太·范伦内普说：“每当火山爆发或地震发生前，动物们的行为就会发生许多异常，比如犬吠或鸟类迁徙，但这些现象尚未得到科学证明。”
他说：“目前还没有这方面的专门研究，因为你无法在实验室或实际环境中进行真正的试验。”
其他权威人士同意这一看法。
“野生动物似乎能够感知某些特殊现象，尤其是鸟类。很多报告显示鸟类能察觉即将来临的灾难。”克莱夫·沃克这样说，他曾经写过数本关于非洲野生动物的书。
一些动物确实是依靠嗅觉或听觉等人类已知的官能来躲避危险的，比如食肉动物。
关于动物“第六感”（或者其他神秘力量）的说法已有很长时间，斯里兰卡被摧残的海滩可能会为这一说法再添一笔证据。
罗马人把猫头鹰视为迫近凶险的征兆，很多古代文明都将大象看作拥有特殊能力或象征的“圣兽”。
此次海啸是上周日（12月26日）印度洋海域的一场地震引发的，目前已造成亚洲和东非的十几万人丧生。
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