Animals at the National Zoo React to D.C. Earthquake
Howler Monkeys The howler monkeys sounded an alarm call just after the earthquake. Wikimedia Commons Plenty of East Coast humans may have freaked out during yesterday's earthquake, but what about the animals? At the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., some animals were slightly jittery, while many weathered the quake with grace and aplomb. Except for the black-and-rufous giant elephant shrew. He was a real wuss. The National Zoo issued a report this morning detailing how their mammals, reptiles, fish and birds reacted to the 5.9 magnitude earthquake. Some definitely took it better than others. Click for a photo gallery of the animals' reactions to the quake. "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," the zoo's communications office says. "Damai (a female Sumatran tiger) jumped at the start of the earthquake in a startled fashion....