[双语新闻] 动物能否感知地震和海啸

 

Animals often seem to know things that people don't.  So far there have been few reports of animals sensing the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan this week.
动物似乎经常知道一些人类不知道的事。 目前为止已经有少数报告称动物预见了上周袭击日本的破坏性地震和海啸。

We do know that animals in areas affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami most certainly did seem to sense that something disastrous and dangerous had happened.  Witnesses report wild animals such as elephants and monkeys moving towards higher ground as well as anxiety and distress in cattle, dogs and other domestic animals. Given the destructiveness of that disaster, surprisingly few dead animals were recovered.
我们知道在2004年印度洋海啸受灾地区，动物似乎的确感知了灾难和危险的发生。目击者称，诸如大象和猴子这类野生动物向高地迁移， 同时牛、狗及其他家畜表现出焦虑和不安。尽管那场灾难破坏性巨大，令人吃惊的是极少发现有动物死亡。

While this might seem odd, if you think about the fact that many species naturally have senses that far more acute than those possessed by humans, it seems less strange.
虽然这看起来很奇怪，但你想想确实有很多物种自然地拥有比人类更灵敏的感觉， 这看起来就没那么怪了。

Wild animals in particular need to have excellent senses of smell, sight, hearing and even the ability to sense minute vibrations, because those senses help them survive.  Many species perceive and use electromagnetic fields that are imperceptible to humans to navigate or find prey.
野生动物特别需要卓越的感觉诸如嗅觉、视觉、听觉甚至是感知极微小的震动的能力， 因为这种感觉使他们得以幸存。很多物种可以感知和利用人类察觉不到的电磁场导航或者捕食。

In fact, some researches are studying the abilities of animals to sense such disasters so they can be used as an early warning system.
事实上，一些专家正在研究动物这种感知灾难的能力，以用于早期预警系统。