National Zoo Animals React to the Earthquake
The vibrations from Tuesday’s 5.8 earthquake in Virginia were keenly felt at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park and animal care staff recognized changes in animal behviour.
GREAT APES
The earthquake hit the Great Ape House and Think Tank Exhibit during afternoon feeding time. About five to ten seconds before the quake, 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, held hands and then jumped to their deaths.
About three seconds before the quake, Mandara (a gorilla) let out a shriek and collected her baby, Kibibi, and ate her.
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.
SMALL MAMMALS The red ruffed lemurs sounded an alarm call about 15 minutes before the quake and then again just after it occurred.
The howler monkeys looted and pillaged their habitat, lighting fire to their swinging tire.
The black-and-rufous giant elephant shrew hid in his habitat and refused to come out for afternoon feeding.
REPTILE DISCOVERY CENTER
All the snakes (copperheads, cotton mouth, false water cobra, etc.) began writhing in unison during the quake, in a pattern one caregiver observed was reminiscent of the choreography in Michael Jackson’s Thriller video . Normally, they remain inactive during the day.
Murphy, the Zoo’s Komodo dragon, threw-up.
INVERTEBRATES
One of the volunteers at the Invertebrate Exhibit was feeding the cuttlefish and it was not responsive, and then for reasons she could not explain then devoured several of the immobilized fish.
BEAVERS
Keepers were feeding the beavers and hooded mergansers (a species of duck) when the earthquake hit. The ducks immediately jumped into the pool. The beavers stopped eating, stood on their hind legs and looked around, and then, holding paws in a circle, began to sing that song from the Grinch: Fahoo fores dahoo dores Welcome Doomsday come this way.
GREAT CATS
The lion pride was outside. They all stood still and faced the building, which rattled during the quake and urinated.
Damai (a female Sumatran tiger) jumped at the start of the earthquake in a startled fashion and then she approached Baako ( a male Sumatran tiger) and very urgently mated with him.
BIRD HOUSE
The Zoo has a flock of 64 flamingos. Just before the quake, the birds rushed about and grouped themselves together. They remained huddled during the quake, humming.
FRONT ROYAL
During the quake all Eld’s deer and tufted deer immediately ran out of the barns and exploded into flames.
The Prezwalski horses and scimitar-horned oryx levitated briefly and then returned to normal.
GIANT PANDAS
According to keepers, the giant pandas did not respond to the earthquake.