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| Sunday, 16 January 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Sixth sense or survival instinct by Shanika Sriyananda Their ability to warn of impending dangers, which many was only anecdotal. Most know about Robins, Common babblers and Bul Bulls that alert us of creepy crawlers that enter the vicinity. No one gave much thought to the so called 'sixth sense' of animals before the tsunami, and the importance of keeping a close eye on the behaviour of animals that are around human habitats.
Though it took thousands of lives, the strong, tsunami waves have gone back to sea teaching us several important lessons. One such lesson is the significance of the 'sixth sense' in animals as a warning signal for natural disasters. The tsunami that hit the Asian region made humans, who relied on hi-tech gadgets and transformed the world into 'a global village' to marvel at the survival instinct of animals. The wild as well as domestic animals in the coastal belt appear to have sensed the danger that lay ahead on December 26, while humans ran to the beaches to see the unusual behaviour of the sea, and the geology experts left their state-of art machines that could have warned of the disaster, idling while they enjoyed their holiday. Before the giant waves rolled inland, animals from elephants to rats, both tamed and wild ran to safer places. Wildlife experts now attribute this to their strong 'survival instincts'. The experts say animals mostly depend on their common senses of smell and hearing and these are used to avoid dangers, especially predators. According to some anecdotes, the Romans saw owls as omens of impending disasters. In some ancient cultures, they believed that animals such as elephants were sacred as they had special powers. However, the observations coming from tsunami hit coastal areas, which show that few animals have died, give credence to the mythical stories about the sixth sense of these animals. The foreign press reported of some incidents where the elephants in Thailand had saved some foreigners from the tsunami waves. The elephants, which had been used as an added attraction, giving rides to tourists, had been tense on the morning the tsunami hit. Unusual trumpeting of elephants had made the mahouts loosen their chains and the agitated animals had run towards hilly places with the mahouts and the tourists following them. A few seconds later the tsunami had struck. Deepal Warakagoda, a local ornithologists, says that he had some information from guides at the Yala National Park, about water birds including egrets and terans disappearing from the park just before the disaster. Dr. Channa Bambaradeniya of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) says he also had information about land monitors, climbing up the coconut trees before the tsunami. " Now there is a big problem in the east where the sea snakes have invaded the land. There are some poisonous sea snakes among them. They had come inland before the tsunami", he says adding that these sea snakes would not bite humans. A simple visit to the affected coastline enlightens one about the animal's power of sensing things that cannot be sensed by human being. Man's best friend -the dog- which never leaves the master, seems to have run for its life when the tsunami waves hit the country. Even the cats and rats had run to safety. These domestic animals have now returned to their homes, that are now piles of rubble. Hundreds of dogs and cats can be seen among the rubble, searching some food these days. The sixth sense of animals gained much credibility at the Yala National Park, which though suffering significant human loss, did not count a single carcase of an animal - a bird or a jumbo. Located in the South east of the country, Yala shelters over 32 species of mammals, 130 avifauna and some notable reptiles. It is home to the sloth bear, leopard, elephant, water buffalo, wild boar, spotted deer, sambar and golden jackal. Director Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC), Dayananda Kariyawasam, who visited the park after the disaster confirmed that he had not found even a single carcase of an animal during his visit. "We also believe in the sixth sense of animals after the tsunami. "Most of the animals had run in the opposite direction, away from the beach for their survival, before the giant waves hit the park", he says. According to Kariyawasam, the park vegetation three to four kilo metres inland along the eastern belt has been damaged and destroyed. While the government is implementing plans to restore the lives of humans, the DWLC is now busy drawing long term plans to protect the Yala park from such natural calamities in the future and to restore the day-to-day lives of wild animals by providing water and food for them. "Out of the six water holes only three have been affected", says Kariyawasam, adding that the recent heavy showers have washed away the mud covering the grassland and cleaned up the water holes. According to Kariyawasam, no sea water intrusion had occurred in the park and the remaining water resources are safe for the animals. Meanwhile, a special committee has been appointed by the DWLC chief to find out the present state of the Park and ways and means of tackling any problems occurring after the tsunami. H.D. Ratnayake, Deputy Director DWLC and Head of the Committee says that the damages from Hikkaduwa to Yala Park would be assessed under the first phase and later they would carry out assessments in other protected areas. According to Warakagoda, the sixth sense of animals has not been scientifically proved in Sri Lanka and there is no such research so far. "This is the worst natural disaster in the country, so no such scientific research on animals have be done", he adds. But, the power of animal instinct, even in this modern age, has alerted us to the importance of being cautious to unusual chirping of birds, barking of dogs and trumpeting of jumbos, to take the necessary steps to protect our lives in the absence of a man-made warning system. |
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