Can Animals Predict Earthquakes?
Can Animals Predict seismic activity before an Earthquake strikes?
Published via TRT World
There are many theories and investigations that claim abnormal animal behavior can help humans predict strong earthquakes.
The long-standing myth that animals can predict earthquakes is yet to be substantiated with scientific reasoning. But this has long captured the imagination of many as local accounts and eyewitness reports suggest that animals behave oddly hours or days before an earthquake strikes.
Dating back to ancient Greece, in 373 BC, it was said that rats, weasels, snakes, and centipedes migrated from their homes days before an intense earthquake jolted the entire region.
Similar anecdotes have emerged in recent times. Some say even fish and birds show unusual behavior prior to seismic activity.
These stories have triggered the interest of researchers, who are using the latest technology to keep a tab on various animals that are said to predict earthquakes ahead of time.
The scientific inquiry
Martin Wikelski from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany led a significant investigation into changing behavioral patterns amongst a group of animals days before an earthquake struck their respective habitats.
Wikelski planted sensors on six cows, five sheep, and two dogs in quake-prone northern Italy. He observed them for several months before and during a series of earthquakes that hit their habitat.
Wikelski and his team of researchers collected data that revealed a change in the behavior of farm animals 20 hours before an earthquake. The animals showed an unusually prolonged activity time – they were 50 percent more active within a time frame of 45 minutes compared to previous days. With a series of calculations, the researchers rightly predicted an earthquake with a magnitude above 4.0. Using the same method, they predicted seven out of eight strong earthquakes.
American geologist Joseph L. Kirschvink explained this phenomenon in a scientific journal in 2000, saying many animals can sense the P wave seconds before the S wave strikes. P waves can travel through liquids, solids, and gases, while S waves only travel through solids. A small number of humans can sense the smaller P wave that travels the fastest from the earthquake source and arrives before the larger S wave.
