phobia
n
extreme or abnormal dislike or fear of sth; aversion (对某事物极端的或反常的)憎恶, 恐惧; 恐怖(症)
learning to control one's phobia about flying 学会克服飞行的恐惧感
Dislike of snakes or spiders is a common phobia. 害怕蛇或厌恶蜘蛛是很常见的事.
Apparently what happened was that water collected on these tar pits, and the bigger animals like the elephants ventured out on to the apparently firm surface to drink, and were promptly bogged in the tar.