How the National Zoo Animals Reacted to the Earthquake

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Link: How the National Zoo Animals Reacted to the Earthquake

Interesting press release about the animals’ reactions just before last week’s earthquake that shook northeastern america.

  • The earthquake hit the Great Ape House and Think Tank Exhibit during afternoon feeding time.
  • About five to ten seconds before the quake, many of the apes, including Kyle (an orangutan) and Kojo (a Western lowland gorilla), abandoned their food and climbed to the top of the tree-like structure in the exhibit.
  • About three seconds before the quake, Mandara (a gorilla) let out a shriek and collected her baby, Kibibi, and moved to the top of the tree structure as well.
  • Iris (an orangutan) began “belch vocalizing”—an unhappy/upset noise normally reserved for extreme irritation—before the quake and continued this vocalization following the quake.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/PressMaterials/PressReleases/NZP/2011/earthquake.cfm

via boingoing