Sixth Sense? Zoo Animals Sensed Quake Early

Aug. 24, 2011 — -- While science can't confirm that animals can predict when a natural disaster may strike, evidence has accumulated that suggests they sense something's up well before humans do.

Reports have surfaced that animals at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., showed signs of distress seconds before their trainers felt the earth shift during the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked much of the Eastern seaboard Tuesday.

About five to 10 seconds before the earthquake hit, many of the apes left their food during the afternoon feeding and climbed to the top of the treelike structure in their exhibit. One gorilla named Mandara shrieked three seconds before the earthquake hit, grabbed her baby and joined the others there.

Some of the smaller animals also reacted. The red-ruffed lemurs called out 15 minutes before the quake. Zookeepers also reported that the black-and-rufous giant elephant shrew hid in its habitat and "refused to come out for afternoon feeding."

The zoo's 64 flamingos also rushed to form a group before the shaking started, and keepers of the zoo's beavers and ducks noticed that they all ran into the water before the earthquake started and stayed there for about an hour.

"They are responding to danger," said Brandie Smith from the National Zoo. "So when there is danger present, a lot of animals go to the place where they are safest from danger."At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the dolphins -- in the midst of a training session -- began to swim away from their trainers, paired up and began swimming rapidly around the tank about 10 seconds before the seismic waves began. They continued to swim as long as the earthquake lasted, and a little while afterward.

Closer to the epicenter, the Richmond Zoo says the chimps began "acting up and hollering" during and after the quake. Birds also reacted, flying around in their enclosures when the quake began.

While it may not be a good ide to use your pet as a disaster alarm (they seem to sense disturbances only seconds before anything happens), some seismologists believe that animals do sense electrical impulses created by the earth's movement before humans do.