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Wild animals are said to possess a sixth sense for
disasters | |
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.
(BBC) |
上周四（12月30日），有專家表示，野生動物們似乎躲過了印度洋的海嘯，這進一步證實了動物對自然災難有“第六感”的觀點。
斯里蘭卡負責野生動物的官員表示，巨浪席卷印度洋海島沿岸，淹死了兩萬四千多人，但野生動物似乎都幸免于難，目前尚未發現一具動物的尸體。
“沒有大象喪生，甚至連野兔和兔子都活得好好的。我想動物們可以感覺到災難即將來臨。它們有第六感，能夠知道海嘯發生的時間。”斯里蘭卡野生動物保護局副局長H·D·拉特納亞克周三說。
海洪沖向離岸三公里（相當于二英里）遠的亞拉國家公園，這里是斯里蘭卡最大的野生動物保護區，生活著幾百頭野生大象和一些美洲豹，海嘯引發的洪水使亞拉國家公園所在的東南部地區變得一片狼藉。南非約翰內斯堡動物園的動物行為專家馬太·范倫內普說：“每當火山爆發或地震發生前，動物們的行為就會發生許多異常，比如犬吠或鳥類遷徙，但這些現象尚未得到科學證明。”
他說：“目前還沒有這方面的專門研究，因為你無法在實驗室或實際環境中進行真正的試驗?！?
其他權威人士同意這一看法。
“野生動物似乎能夠感知某些特殊現象，尤其是鳥類。很多報告顯示鳥類能察覺即將來臨的災難?！笨巳R夫·沃克這樣說，他曾經寫過數本關于非洲野生動物的書。
一些動物確實是依靠嗅覺或聽覺等人類已知的官能來躲避危險的，比如食肉動物。
關于動物“第六感”（或者其他神秘力量）的說法已有很長時間，斯里蘭卡被摧殘的海灘可能會為這一說法再添一筆證據。
羅馬人把貓頭鷹視為迫近兇險的征兆，很多古代文明都將大象看作擁有特殊能力或象征的“圣獸”。
此次海嘯是上周日（12月26日）印度洋海域的一場地震引發的，目前已造成亞洲和東非的十幾萬人喪生。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-01-04 11:12