Five tiny songbirds fitted with
tracking devices appear to have fled their nests in Tennessee just a day before
tornadoes struck in April. The golden-winged warblers had arrived at their nesting
site only a few days earlier after a 3,000 mile journey from Colombia.
Scientists believe they flew 400
miles south to escape the storms which killed 35 people, then
returned after a few days. They think the warblers may have been alerted by a
very deep rumble in the air, inaudible to the human ear.
In 2004, there were stories of
animals escaping the Boxing Day tsunami. Witnesses spoke of flamingos deserting
low-lying breeding areas, elephants screaming and running to higher ground, and
dogs and zoo animals refusing to go outside their shelters.
While more than 200,000 people
died, there were relatively few animal casualties. At Patanangala beach in Sri
Lanka’s Yala National Park, home to a wide variety of animals, 60 people were
washed away, but the only animals lost were two water buffaloes. There is
speculation that perhaps animals are able to detect vibrations in the earth
that pass us by.
No comments:
Post a Comment