NEWS: Sri Lankan Wildlife Officials: Where Are All the Dead Animals?

As the world tallies the dead and injured in the tsunami disaster, a mystery of sorts has developed regarding animals in the disaster zone. Sri Lankan wildlife officials have been unable to find any dead animals. Waves reached some 2 miles into the Yala National Park, but no dead animals have been found. AT least 40 tourists were killed in the park.




As the experts speculates maybe they had a sixth sense and fled the area. Im not making light of the human toll in any way but this story is a bit strange. Its quite possible that they have yet to find any, and the park is home to a lot of wildlife. However, even elephants can run pretty quick but cannot do so for a great distance.

It is well known animals sense such things.

However, dead animals will be found eventually, they are just not a priority so are likely in the case of smaller animals going un-noticed.

Out of interest, what are the reports of the amount of dead fish found on land?

I have not seen reports of dead fish as of yet. However, while I agree that human searching is a priority, these quys were game wardents at the park, so they would have seen it at any rate.

Animal behavior has always been noted as a precursor to earthquakes. They have actually studied and predicted quakes in China by noting strange animal behavior such as mass numbers of snakes crawling away from what was later found to be the epicenter of the quake, dogs howling constantly for days prior to the quake and cats behaving strangely. It would not suprise me in the least to find that they sense coming tsunamis as well. Animals are so much more in tune to the heartbeat of the earth than we humans are.

The animals only sense would've been that of a large explosion or occurance and or earthquake. A tsunami would be hard for an animal to pick up on through instinct since the animal must survive and take into knowledge of the event that had just occurred. Since a tsunami or tidal wave that large will rarely occur within any animals lifetime, especially for those more inland, they will never pick up the habit of knowing the sound and to reach for high ground. Only a few and intelligent species may have known while others would instictivly go for high grounds as its resort to escape whatever it is they hear (which they may interpret the sound as a explosion or stampede).

My guess is that since the animals felt the initial earthquake, they all dashed towards the opposite end of Sri Lanka where they remained or continued till they reached the border in which the waves all came and took most out to sea. The ones in the trees will probably be the few that we'll see alive or dead. As for the rest, they should be looking on the west coast of the island as thats where you'll find most of em. The rest are probably in the ocean, especially the elephants because they would've been pushed with the most force but not enough force to lift them from the bottom of the water and back to surface.

[edit on 30-12-2004 by makavelli]

makavelli

You post makes sence, however, in watching the story on TV, the interviewed wardens seemed to imply that most of the animals were found alive.

Think about it logically, would most of the people killed be right on the beach or right next to it, how many animals would be that close to the sea?

The reason why lots of animals werent killed is that there werent lots of animals in the areas affected.

Again I would agree with you however, but the water according to the report reached in 2 miles, 40 tourist were killed in the park as well. THere should be at least a few animals lying about as it is a wildlife refuge.

It doesnt suprise me at all, animals have long been documented in for seeing these kinds of events.

In regards to the elephants being washed away... because of their size, it is less likely the waves would have been able to pull them to sea, if a five year old holding on to a pole can hold out against the currents, i'm sure an elephants wieght would stop it from being dragged to sea.

where did the animals go?
they fled to the mountains! animals can sense such disasters before they occour, they feel the vibration or something. just like dogs go crazy BEFORE an earthquake, i belive so did animals react here:
they ran away from the coast!

except those that were locked in some kind of park or a zoo....

[edit on 30-12-2004 by Souljah]

Humans many times are unable to sense that danger is coming, and they don't realize how big the danger is -I've seen a photo posted somewhere on ATS with people escaping tsunami. There were many faces which were amused -like it was sort of Christmas surprise which got out of hand. We humans are curious creatures, we want to know, observe, and the most of all we are convinced that bad things won't happened to us, and when this happens we are it state of shock.
Animals -they use their instinct - danger - run away to safety - simple...

Another thing -this story make me more convinced about Earth being intelligent creature -I'm referring to Gaia theory. Animals are connected with mother nature - they are able to here her language. Humans apparently not anymore

when I made me original post, I was not completely sure of the devestation of the tsunami. now that i've got a clearer idea, I still hold to what I've said before, but the tsunami was no as powerful as I once thought and most animals had probably reached higher ground only because when the tsunami is going through the island, the water wraps around it. The animals instincts and senses will tell it where the waves are crashing through by sound and vibration and when the vibration and wave passes them, they probably started to head back the other directions. When they did this, the waves that had hit the east coast of the island were begining to move out and that offered more higher ground for the animals while the west coast of the island was being submerged.

Animals probably had the best chance in this one with the whole pre-warning and early reaction, and even more, some have more speed while others have more strength to endure the waves and debris crashing through.

I would like to add another "bizarre" story about animals:

KHAO LAK: Agitated elephants felt the tsunami coming, and their sensitivity saved about a dozen foreign tourists from the fate of thousands killed by the giant waves.
"I was surprised because the elephants had never cried before," mahout Dang Salangam said on Sunday on Khao Lak beach of the eight-elephant business offering rides to tourists.
The elephants started trumpeting - in a way Dang, 36, and his wife Kulada, 24, said could only be described as crying - at first light, about the time an earthquake measured at a magnitude of 9.0 cracked open the sea bed off Indonesia's Sumatra island.
The elephants soon calmed down. But they started wailing again about an hour later and this time they could not be comforted despite attempts at reassurance.

"The elephants didn't believe the mahouts. They just kept running for the hill," said Wit Aniwat, 24, who takes the money from tourists and helps them on to the back of elephants from a sturdy wooden platform.
Those with tourists aboard headed for the jungle-clad hill behind the resort beach where at least 3800 people, more than half of them foreigners, would soon be killed. The elephants that were not working broke their hefty chains.
"Then we saw the big wave coming and we started running," Wit said.

Elephants saved tourists from tsunami

Animals sense danger. We should observe them more careful

I think we have the same ability as other animals to detect coming danger.
But our minds are so cluttered with garbage that we fail to recognize or notice the warnings.
We have lost touch with nature because of our materialistic life styles.

Possible explanation:

French zoologists say many animals seem to have avoided the December 26 tsunami that swept the coastline of the Indian Ocean thanks to acoustic senses that are far more advanced than those of humans.

Aerial pictures of Sri Lanka's Yala National Park, broadcast on international TV news channels, show it was penetrated by surging floodwater.

But there were no signs of any dead elephants, leopards, deer, jackals and crocodiles, the species that have given the conservation reserve worldwide fame.

The footage adds to historic anecdotes about seismic waves, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, in which birds take flight, dogs howl and herd animals stampede to safety before catastrophe strikes.

If that is the case, the animals' survival is unlikely to owe itself to any so-called sixth sense but to more acute hearing or some already-known sense, experts say.

"In anything to do with vibrations, seismic shocks or sound waves, animals have capabilities which we do not," said Herve Fritz, a researcher in animal behaviour at France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

Acoustic senses may have saved animals from tsunami

This might be true -I know my dog hears sounds which I'm not able to hear....