Animal’s "Sixth
Sense" A tsunami was triggered by an earthquake in the
Indian Ocean in December, 2004. It killed tens of thousands of people in Asia
and East Africa. Wild animals, (51) , seem to have escaped
that terrible tsunami. This phenomenon adds weight to notions that they possess
a "sixth sense" for (52) , experts said. Sri
Lankan wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over 24,000
people along the Indian Ocean island’s coast clearly (53)
wild beasts, with no dead animals found. "No elephants
are dead, not (54) a dead rabbit. I think animals can
(55) disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things
are happening," H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka’s Wildlife
Department, said about one month after the tsunami attack. The (56)
washed floodwaters up to 2 miles inland at Yala National ’Park in the
ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka’s biggest wildlife (57) and home
to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards. "There has
been a lot of (58) evidence about dogs barking or birds
migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has not been proven,"
said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behavior (59) at
Johannesburg Zoo. "There have been no (60)
studies because you can’t really test it in a lab or field setting,"
he told Reuters. Other authorities concurred with this (61)
. "Wildlife seem to be able to pick up certain
(62) , especially birds... there are many reports of birds
detecting impending disasters," said Clive Walker, who has written several books
on African wildlife. Animals (63) rely on the
known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger such as
predators. The notion of an animal "sixth sense" -- or
(64) other mythical ’power -- is an enduring one which the
evidence on Sri Lanka’s ravaged coast is likely to add to. The
Romans saw owls (65) omens of impending disaster and many
ancient cultures viewed elephants as sacred animals endowed with special powers
or attributes.
