"...massive reports in the media that countless animals survived because they got a heads up and headed for higher ground, while countless people died."

First of all, most of the people died due to the tsunami, which was something that only occurred on the shorelines. The people along the shores were also mostly in towns, resorts, and villages, places where you don't find large numbers of wild animals.

Second, most of the people killed were some distance from the actual quake. Seismic waves travel many many times faster than tsunami waves. Do you not think it's possible that the animals far away could still feel the quake and panicked, whereas the humans did not feel the weak ground motions, and being the stupid humans we are, were oblivious to the danger when the sea receded so?

Brian