Dogs in the region were reported to have howled for several hours before the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. The same was said after the Great Earthquake of 1999. So, can animals sense disasters hours before they strike, or is this just an urban legend? Some records date back to the BC period; it mentions that many animals, such as mice, ferrets, snakes, and insects, fled the city even before the earthquakes. Professor Martin Wikelski, who studies animal behavior at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, has uncovered the facts on this matter through his extensive research. Let's explore the details together.
In 2016, biologists began research in one of the seismically active areas of northern Italy.
The study was conducted on six cows, five sheep, and two dogs living on a farm in the region. The animals were fitted with highly sensitive devices that recorded their accelerated movements. During the study period, more than 18,000 earthquakes occurred. The first of these earthquakes had a magnitude of 6.6.
The study found that changes in cow movement within the barn were observed before earthquakes of magnitude 3.8 or greater.
«"It's a kind of mutual influence system," Professor Wikelski explained. «"At first, the cows stand still until the dogs go crazy. Then the cows go even crazier. Then the sheep become active, and so on.".
Farm animals can feel tremors even after 20 hours
Studies have shown that farm animals can sense earthquakes 1–20 hours in advance; they were found to respond earlier to tremors near the surface and later to those more distant.
Animal senses could be used to warn of earthquakes
Several weeks before the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck Haicheng, China, on February 4, 1975, a large number of snakes were observed waking from hibernation and leaving their dens despite the freezing temperatures. Following this and several other strange events, authorities decided to evacuate the city just hours before the strong earthquake struck.
The simultaneous response of 20–50 animals could be used as an earthquake warning system, allowing people to reach safety several hours before a disaster, as was the case in China. While more comprehensive research is still needed, it is a fact that animals somehow sense disasters.
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