Some Animals Possess Amazing Sixth Sense to Predict Natural Disasters Like Earthquake

Unusual animal behavior has been studied for generations, one of them being believed that they have acquired a sense to predict earthquakes.

Several occurrences have been documented where animals exhibited unusual behavior before an earthquake. The earliest evidence happened in Greece, 373 BC. There were anecdotal reports showing different classifications of animals such as fish, birds, reptiles, and insects who were unusually behaving several days before the earthquake, and some of them even evacuated their homes.

This bizarre event has led to more studies aiming to explain this animal mechanism prior to a seismic event, a mystery which up until now is not fully understood.

Animal and earthquake correlation

A lot of theories had emerged explaining the cause of abnormal behavioral patterns of animals before an incoming earthquake. They are believed to have a keener sense in feeling smaller waves before the larger wave arrives.

A paper published in a scientific journal in the U.S. posed a rather rational theory about the correlation between animal behavior pattern and seismic activity, relating it to their genetic system. Generally, it is an animals' instinct to escape from predators and preserve their lives.

It is therefore possible that the escape response of animals is determined by their original, already-existing genetic predisposal, which they developed naturally. The question now is, how can animals predict earthquake signs, days or weeks before it happens?

Another study from Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany provided a behavioral theory of how animals predict earthquakes. An earthquake in central Italy last 2016 led Martin Wikelski and his colleagues to test their theory on farm animals.

They were hoping to understand the behavioral patterns in farm animals during the aftershock of the October earthquake. Two days after, another major earthquake occurred which gave Wikelski's team a rare opportunity to study animals before, during and after an earthquake.

Results recorded 8 out of 10 earthquakes with magnitudes higher than 4.0 were anticipated by animals. However, this pattern was only observed when animals were housed in stables.

The behavior was inconsistent when they were roaming free. In addition, findings show that animals' response is slower when they are farther from the epicenter.

Although Wikelski is not fully confident with the data they have gathered over a period of time, he still considered how animal senses its environment as a distinct manner and their "sixth sense",  and how their keen sense can enable them to also predict natural disasters.

Also read: Earthquake Warnings and Tsunami Hazards Along Coasts Higher Than Expected - New Study

Areas of improvement for future studies

Studying animal behavior cannot guarantee an accurate result if the data is lacking. Rohini Balakrishnan, an ecologist at the Indian Institute of Science in India, pointed out that it takes more than just few individuals of each species to determine a whole understanding of animal behavior.

However, Wikelski and his team's study has potential to create a more-detailed data and result in future studies, Stephen Hicks, a seismologist at the Imperial College in London said.

Explaining animal behavior towards seismic activity might require some more measurement and variables. Wikelski admitted the limitation of his work, as he only focused on 'one earthquake series, one farm, and one area in the world'.

Also read: 8 Most Disastrous and Deadliest Earthquakes From the Last Decade