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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(zhuān)家表示，野生動(dòng)物們似乎躲過(guò)了印度洋的海嘯，這進(jìn)一步證實(shí)了動(dòng)物對(duì)自然災(zāi)難有“第六感”的觀點(diǎn)。
斯里蘭卡負(fù)責(zé)野生動(dòng)物的官員表示，巨浪席卷印度洋海島沿岸，淹死了兩萬(wàn)四千多人，但野生動(dòng)物似乎都幸免于難，目前尚未發(fā)現(xiàn)一具動(dòng)物的尸體。
“沒(méi)有大象喪生，甚至連野兔和兔子都活得好好的。我想動(dòng)物們可以感覺(jué)到災(zāi)難即將來(lái)臨。它們有第六感，能夠知道海嘯發(fā)生的時(shí)間。”斯里蘭卡野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)局副局長(zhǎng)H·D·拉特納亞克周三說(shuō)。
海洪沖向離岸三公里（相當(dāng)于二英里）遠(yuǎn)的亞拉國(guó)家公園，這里是斯里蘭卡最大的野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)區(qū)，生活著幾百頭野生大象和一些美洲豹，海嘯引發(fā)的洪水使亞拉國(guó)家公園所在的東南部地區(qū)變得一片狼藉。南非約翰內(nèi)斯堡動(dòng)物園的動(dòng)物行為專(zhuān)家馬太·范倫內(nèi)普說(shuō)：“每當(dāng)火山爆發(fā)或地震發(fā)生前，動(dòng)物們的行為就會(huì)發(fā)生許多異常，比如犬吠或鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)遷徙，但這些現(xiàn)象尚未得到科學(xué)證明。”
他說(shuō)：“目前還沒(méi)有這方面的專(zhuān)門(mén)研究，因?yàn)槟銦o(wú)法在實(shí)驗(yàn)室或?qū)嶋H環(huán)境中進(jìn)行真正的試驗(yàn)。”
其他權(quán)威人士同意這一看法。
“野生動(dòng)物似乎能夠感知某些特殊現(xiàn)象，尤其是鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)。很多報(bào)告顯示鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)能察覺(jué)即將來(lái)臨的災(zāi)難。”克萊夫·沃克這樣說(shuō)，他曾經(jīng)寫(xiě)過(guò)數(shù)本關(guān)于非洲野生動(dòng)物的書(shū)。
一些動(dòng)物確實(shí)是依靠嗅覺(jué)或聽(tīng)覺(jué)等人類(lèi)已知的官能來(lái)躲避危險(xiǎn)的，比如食肉動(dòng)物。
關(guān)于動(dòng)物“第六感”（或者其他神秘力量）的說(shuō)法已有很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間，斯里蘭卡被摧殘的海灘可能會(huì)為這一說(shuō)法再添一筆證據(jù)。
羅馬人把貓頭鷹視為迫近兇險(xiǎn)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(chǎng)地震引發(fā)的，目前已造成亞洲和東非的十幾萬(wàn)人喪生。
（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2005-01-04 11:12