Did animals have quake warning?

By Sue Nelson

BBC Science correspondent

Do wild animals have a sixth sense?

Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka have reported that, despite the loss of human life in the Asian disaster, there have been no recorded animal deaths.

Waves from the worst tsunami in memory sent floodwater surging up to 3.5km (two miles) inland to the island's biggest wildlife reserve.

Many tourists drowned but, to the surprise of officials, no dead animals have been found.

It has highlighted claims that animals may possess a sixth sense about danger.

Yala National Park in Sri Lanka is home to elephants, deer, jackals and crocodiles.

Sensitive to change

Praised for its conservation, the park is also considered one of the best places in the world to observe leopards.

It is now closed after floods damaged buildings and caused the deaths of tourists and employees of the park and lodge.

Yet, surprisingly, none of the park's varied wildlife is reported to have perished.

Debbie Marter, who works on a wild tiger conservation programme on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, one of the worst-hit areas in Sunday's disaster, said she was not surprised to hear there were no dead animals.

"Wild animals in particular are extremely sensitive," she said.

"They've got extremely good hearing and they will probably have heard this flood coming into the distance.

"There would have been vibration and there may also have been changes in the air pressure which will have alerted animals and made them move to wherever they felt safer."

There are many eyewitness accounts of birds and animals migrating before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The scientific evidence for a sixth sense is lacking, but if the reports are confirmed, they could add to the understanding of animal behaviour and possibly even be used in the future as an early warning system for humans.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4136485.stm

There's a mangy soi dog on Petburi Rd who crosses the road using the bridge, whereas many people try to run though the traffic and get hit by the contra-flow.

I was always paranoid that animals knew more than we did, especially the dolphins...and the cats....and the cockroaches, (who seem ominously prescient).

There are far more than 5 senses, and at least 2 of them can be used as early warning systems.... The first is hearing - earthquakes make noise - a lot of noise, but it is usually below the human threshold of eharing. The other is there is a huge piezolectric change, wich can be detected by many animals .... including humans, (although, granted, not particularly well) Purely sepculation, but I would reckon that the increased processing power of our brains hampers the actual detection of stimuli, also we don't need it as much as most, and if you don't need it, it becomes wasted resources rather than added skill...

/joke removed

/unappropriate post in this forum

There are far more than 5 senses,  and at least 2 of them can be used as early warning systems....  The first is hearing - earthquakes make noise - a lot of noise,  but it is usually below the human threshold of eharing.  The other is there is a huge piezolectric change,  wich can be detected by many animals .... including humans,  (although, granted,  not particularly well)     Purely sepculation,  but I would reckon that the increased processing power of our brains hampers the actual detection of stimuli,  also we don't need it as much as most,  and if you don't need it,  it becomes wasted resources rather than added skill... 

/removed

Thats sick! And not funny.

The same question was asked in a repeated interview on Fox News. The expert again and again explained "NO, animals just have sharper senses (the 5 usual ones) than humans".

/removed

Some replies are insensitive for the time being guys. For sure this was not the intention of darknight when he posted it.

/offending remarks removed

/keep it clean or i'll close it.

I've also read stuff about animals being able to detect coming natural disasters while our more neurologically advanced species doesn't know anything until it's too late. As one poster mentioned, a good explanation for this is the animals' more acute sensory systems. Dogs for example can hear sounds at much higher frequencies than we can hear them at and their sense of smell is 1,000 times more powerful. With the size of many animals' ears I wouldn't be surprised of changes in air pressure/density could be detected and cause them to instinctively head for safety. I believe either the National Geographic or Discovery channels often have shows relating to this phenomenon.