Can animals predict earthquakes before they happen?

 Can animals predict earthquakes before they happen?

Science still rejects the hypothesis that animals can predict natural disasters, primarily earthquakes.

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But the testimonies of many that these organisms predict earthquakes before they occur have aroused the interest of researchers who use the latest technologies to monitor different animals.

Historical records indicate that the inhabitants of ancient Greece witnessed a mass escape of animals such as rats and snakes from their areas, before a strong earthquake that occurred around 373 BC.

Martin Wikelski of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Animal Behavior in Germany investigated the changing behavioral patterns of the animals days before the earthquake.

Wikielski implanted the sensors on six cows, five sheep and two dogs that were in an earthquake-prone area of northern Italy, and the experiment revealed a change in their behavior 20 hours before the earthquake.

The animals showed 50 percent more activity during the 45-minute time frame compared to the previous days, and through a series of calculations, the researchers accurately predicted an earthquake of magnitude above 4. Using the same method, the researchers predicted 7 out of 8 strong earthquakes.

On February 4, 1975, despite freezing temperatures, dozens of snakes emerged from their dens to hibernate in the weeks leading up to a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the Chinese city of Haicheng. The reptiles' behavior, along with other incidents, helped convince authorities to evacuate the city hours before the massive earthquake.

For centuries, people have talked about the "unusual" behavior of animals just before seismic events: dogs barking constantly, cows stopping their milking, frogs jumping out of puddles. And a number of researchers tried to prove the existence of a link between the occurrence of earthquakes and the behavior of animals.

In a study whose results were published in the journal Physics and Chemistry of the Earth recently, scientists confirmed the ability of wild animals to predict earthquakes a few weeks before they occur, which may allow the use of cameras that monitor the dwellings and movements of animals in countries that are frequently exposed to earthquakes.

Scientists recorded, through a series of cameras that were installed in an area in Peru in the Amazon River basin, changes in the behavior of animals three weeks before the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7, struck the region in 2011.

During a 23-day period before the earthquake, the scientists recorded five or fewer movements per day for these animals, compared to between five and 15 movements per day in the preceding period.

"Animals can help us understand the subtle changes that precede major earthquakes, by using their extraordinary ability to sense the environment around them," said the co-author of the report.

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