Many animals at the National Zoo in Washington sensed the rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake on Aug. 23 that shook the US east coast before it struck, and began to behave strangely, zoo officials said.
The epicenter of the surprise quake was located in a small Virginia town 134km southwest of the US capital.
Despite the distance, the zoo’s red-ruffed lemurs “sounded an alarm call about 15 minutes before the quake and then again just after it occurred,” the zoo said in a statement last Wednesday.
Photo: Reuters照片：路透
The zoo’s flock of 64 flamingos rushed about and grouped themselves together just before the quake, then remained huddled as the earth shook.
About five to 10 seconds before the quake, many of the zoo’s apes, including an orangutan and a gorilla, “abandoned their food and climbed to the top of the tree-like structure in the exhibit.”
Three seconds before the quake a female gorilla shrieked, collected her baby and also climbed the structure, while another orangutan “began ‘belch vocalizing’ — an unhappy/upset noise normally reserved for extreme irritation — before the quake and continued this vocalization following the quake.”
Photo: AFP照片：法新社
The howler monkeys also “sounded an alarm call just after the earthquake.”
When the quake struck, the zoo’s snakes — including copperheads, cotton mouth, and false water cobra — began writhing. The zoo’s Komodo dragon hid inside its shelter.
“All of these behaviors were atypical for that time of the day,” Don Moore, the zoo’s director of animal care, told CNN.
Of all the zoo animals, the giant pandas remained apparently oblivious.
“According to keepers, the giant pandas did not appear to respond to the earthquake,” the zoo said. (AFP)
華盛頓特區國家動物園管理員表示，園內許多動物，在芮氏地震規模五點八的地震撼動美國東岸之前，就開始做出怪異行為。
這個出其不意的地震，震央在離華府西南方一百三十四公里的一座維吉尼亞州小鎮。
儘管這座動物園距離震央有段距離，園內的紅頸狐猴發出長達十五分鐘的預警呼叫，而後隨即在地震發生後再次喊叫。
動物園六十四隻紅鶴在地震前，倉皇亂跑後匯聚在一塊兒，然後在天搖地動時緊緊擠在一起。
大概在地震來前十秒鐘，許多園內包含紅毛猩猩與大猩猩等猿類，「丟下食物，並且爬上展區內樹狀攀岩架的頂端。」
地震前三秒鐘，一隻雌性大猩猩發出尖叫聲，帶著牠的寶寶，也爬上這座攀岩架。另有一隻紅毛猩猩，則開始「發出『打嗝』聲─這通常是受到一種極端刺激才會發出的躁動不安的聲音─這種聲音從震前一直持續到震後。」
吼猴也在「地震後隨即發出警報呼叫。」
園內包含銅頭蛇、棉口蛇與巴西水王蛇等蛇類則在地震中掙扎扭動。動物園的科莫多巨蜥則躲到藏身處。
園方動物照護管理員告訴CNN說：「全部的這些都是該天當時的反常行為。」
園方所有動物中，熊貓則是明顯對地震不為所動。
園方表示：「根據管理員的描述，熊貓並未因地震而表現出任何反應。」（法新社／翻譯：林亞蒂）
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