In a video that made the network lap after the devastating earthquake, a dog appears in a flat in Shengjin, which departs a few seconds before the house is shaken by the earthquake. In addition, there are many telling Anabel.al that before the chaotic earthquake, they had heard dogs barking nonstop. Someone else said the cat moved shy. The question arises: Can animals predict the earthquake?
In 373 BC, historians record that animals, including rats, snakes, and hawks, abandoned the Greek city of Helice, days before an earthquake devastated the country.
Thoughts that animals can predict the earthquake have existed for centuries. Moving cats that are shy are reported, chickens that lay eggs, bees leaving the hives. Numerous pet owners have long claimed to have witnessed the moment when dogs and cats displayed strange behavior, minutes before the earth shook. According to them, the dogs barked for no apparent reason or appeared nervous and anxious.
However what animals feel is still a mystery. One theory supports the idea that animals, including pets, feel the Earth tremble before humans. Other ideas suggest that animals come to understand electrical changes in air or gas released from Earth.
Earthquakes are a sudden occurrence. Seismologists have no means of calculating exactly when there may be oscillations. About 500,000 earthquakes occur on Earth each year. Out of them, 100,000 can be felt by people and somewhere around 100 cause damage.
One of the countries most at risk of earthquakes is Japan. For years, Japanese researchers have been observing animals to find out if they can predict earthquakes.
American seismologists, on the other hand, are skeptical. Although there are numerous cases of documenting strange animal behavior, the US Geological Survey (USGS), a government agency that provides scientific information about the Earth, says there is no link between animal behavior and earthquakes.
"What we're dealing with is just anecdote," said Andy Michael, a geophysicist at USGS. "Animals react to so many things, so it's difficult to have a precise study of their signals."
Strange behaviors
In September 2003, a physician in Japan was commented around the world after showing his dog's strange behavior, such as excessive barking or biting.
There have also been cases when authorities have predicted a major earthquake. In 1975, for example, Chinese officials ordered the construction of Haicheng, a city of one million inhabitants, just days before a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the country. The decision was thought to come from observing the actions of the animals. However, later officials said it was the repetition of what are called bypasses that raised the alarm.
However, the Chinese have continued to study animal behavior in support of earthquake forecasts. Rubert Sheldrake, a biologist and author of many books on dogs, has said that "there must be a connection between animals and earthquakes." According to him, not all earthquakes cause nervousness in animals.
Sheldrake did his research looking at the reactions of animals, before the big vibrations. He examined the earthquake in California in 1994 and in Greece and Turkey in 1999.
In both cases, the biologist reported that there was characteristic animal behavior before the earthquakes. The dogs barked restlessly throughout the night, the birds moving in the restless cage, and the cats hiding nervously.
Geologists disagree with his opinion. According to them, we are dealing with the "effect of psychological focus", where people remember strange behavior only after an earthquake or another natural disaster. If nothing had happened, they would not have noticed these actions.
Sheldrake, on the other hand, rejects this argument. "I don't think all people who have told stories about such animals suffer from memory loss," he said. Sheldrake has long emphasized that studies and research on animals are needed, as they can serve to prevent many catastrophes. "What is stopping this research is not the lack of money, but the dogmatism and narrow minds."
Source: National Geograpic
