20,000 dead humans, 0 dead animals

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http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/28732/story.htm

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan wildlife officials are stunned -- the worst tsunami in memory has killed around 22,000 people along the Indian Ocean island's coast, but they can't find any dead animals.

Giant waves washed floodwaters up to 3 km (2 miles) inland at Yala National Park in the ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards.

"The strange thing is we haven't recorded any dead animals," H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of the national Wildlife Department, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit," he added. "I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening."

At least 40 tourists, including nine Japanese, were drowned.

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 31 December 2004 02:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I reckon we had this sense and lost it.

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 31 December 2004 02:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Similar story up at the BBC site. It is pretty strange, to be sure...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 31 December 2004 02:54 (twenty-one years ago)

It is a little strange, but it still makes perfect sense.

― Riot Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 31 December 2004 02:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Thanks Ned.

I love nature.

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 31 December 2004 03:00 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.outonawhimproductions.com/Kid_Fun/images/NoahsArk.gif

― Ganbare Goemon (ex machina), Friday, 31 December 2004 03:08 (twenty-one years ago)

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~julieann/art/Noah

― Ganbare Goemon (ex machina), Friday, 31 December 2004 03:10 (twenty-one years ago)

If you'll indulge me just a moment...

OMG I L0VE GOEMON

[/derail]

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 31 December 2004 03:17 (twenty-one years ago)

not so strange, maybe.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 31 December 2004 03:23 (twenty-one years ago)

wtf are cassowaries?

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Friday, 31 December 2004 04:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm skeptical.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 31 December 2004 04:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Cassowaries are mean birds.

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Friday, 31 December 2004 04:09 (twenty-one years ago)

We have them in Australia. They're big bloody things that hang around in rainforests.

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 31 December 2004 04:10 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.australia-holidays4less.co.uk/queensland/sightseeing/cape_tribulation_and_daintree_river/images/cassowary.jpg

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 31 December 2004 04:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm completely unsurprised (GO ME), doesn't this happen to some degree in most/all natural disasters?

― Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 31 December 2004 04:49 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, but it's so cool. Go animals!

― Pears can just fuck right off. (kenan), Friday, 31 December 2004 04:50 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, that's why I linked the Slate piece.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 31 December 2004 04:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Isn't this just that wild animals tend to not hang around the highly developed/populated coastal areas? And they may avoid the parts of their reserves that are near the developed areas? And that there may be less debris and hard-edged buildings, etc, to be smacked up against in the parks?

― nickn (nickn), Friday, 31 December 2004 08:56 (twenty-one years ago)

hopefully in the future genetic engineering will enable us to adopt the sensory ability of other animals, like Marshall Bravestarr

― Frankenstein On Ice (blueski), Friday, 31 December 2004 11:59 (twenty-one years ago)

or goatboy.

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Friday, 31 December 2004 14:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I have yet to see a herd of elephants sunbathing on a beach.

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Friday, 31 December 2004 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

No dead animals whatsoever? Not even a domestic dog or cat? I'm calling bullshit on this one.

Like anyone is looking for a cat in a tsunami anyway.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 31 December 2004 16:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm going to start using that, Matt.

ME: "That's as dumb as looking for a cat in a tsunami!"
OTHER PEOPLE: *Moving away from me.*

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 31 December 2004 16:39 (twenty-one years ago)

wouldn't there be lots of dead, washed up sea creatures? and don't they count as animals?

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Friday, 31 December 2004 16:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm calling bullshit on this one

This phrase always makes me think of particularly unlikeable TV detectives (and, like, call bullshit if you can disprove it, you know)

― Markelby (Mark C), Friday, 31 December 2004 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

"Something stinks here, and it ain't yesterdays laundry."

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Friday, 31 December 2004 18:04 (twenty-one years ago)

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