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{{B}}Animal's "Sixth
Sense"{{/B}} 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,{{U}} (51) {{/U}}, seem to have escaped that terrible tsunami. This phenomenon adds weight to notions that they possess a "sixth sense" for{{U}} (52) {{/U}}, 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{{U}} (53) {{/U}}wild beasts, with no dead animals found. "No elephants are dead, not{{U}} (54) {{/U}}a dead rabbit. I think animals can{{U}} (55) {{/U}}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{{U}} (56) {{/U}}washed floodwaters up to 2 miles inland at Yala National 'Park in the ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife{{U}} (57) {{/U}}and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards. "There has been a lot of{{U}} (58) {{/U}}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{{U}} (59) {{/U}}at Johannesburg Zoo. "There have been no{{U}} (60) {{/U}}studies because you can't really test it in a lab or field setting," he told Reuters. Other authorities concurred with this{{U}} (61) {{/U}}. "Wildlife seem to be able to pick up certain{{U}} (62) {{/U}}, especially birds... there are many reports of birds detecting impending disasters," said Clive Walker, who has written several books on African wildlife. Animals{{U}} (63) {{/U}}rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger such as predators. The notion of an animal "sixth sense" -- or{{U}} (64) {{/U}}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{{U}} (65) {{/U}}omens of impending disaster and many ancient cultures viewed elephants as sacred animals endowed with special powers or attributes. |