Scientists have long been dealing with the behavior of various animals before the earthquake. He cares about researchers around the world. A similar interest was recorded before our era (328). An ancient scientist wrote that five days before the terrible earthquake in the Greek city of Helicos, the weasels and moles, centipedes and echidna left their burrows and took to flight.
Despite this, for a long time, the unusual behavior of animals before the earthquake was not investigated by scientists. They began to actively deal with this issue at the beginning of the 20th century.
How pets react to an earthquake approach
Do not be surprised, but perhaps a living earthquake indicator lives in your home. Of course, we will talk about our pets. Someone has dogs or cats, someone has cute hamsters or unhurried turtles. Many people prefer to watch tropical fish or funny parrots. Sometimes neither the owner of the animal, nor an experienced zoologist is able to explain some of the actions and deeds of pets.
Sometimes the behavior of animals goes beyond the usual and, as it seems to us, have no apparent reason. It is possible that your pet has felt the approach of the start of tremors and wants to warn you about it.
Owners have long begun to pay attention to the behavior of pets before an earthquake in seismically hazardous areas. After strong earthquakes, people recalled that their pets gave them a sign. For example, a usually calm dog starts to rush about and finds no place, trying in every possible way to leave the room, or the mice suddenly together leave the barn. Many animals exhibit unusual activity before an earthquake. For example, snakes come to the surface of the earth at an inopportune hour.
How to recognize the input signal
An observant and attentive person will definitely notice that the behavior of pets before an earthquake changes. But it should be noted that not all of our four-legged friends have the ability of seismic indicators. In addition, even different individuals of the same species are often endowed with different abilities. To reveal something unusual in the behavior of the animal, which may indicate seismic disturbances, is possible only after careful and prolonged observation of it.
Animals and earthquake
Observations of animal behavior led to the emergence of such fields of science as seismobiology and bioseismology. Scientists around the world are trying to uncover one of nature’s greatest secrets - the ability of living things to foresee the approach of danger.
In discussing how pets react to an earthquake, you need to familiarize yourself with examples that people who have experienced this natural phenomenon tell about.
In September 1927, in the Crimea, 12 hours before the start of the shocks, the cows refused to feed and began to moo anxiously, the horses broke off the leash, cats and dogs snuggled up to the owners and howled, mewed.
In Ashgabat (1948) at the stud farm, the behavior of animals before the earthquake was even more stormy. The horses knocked out the gates of the stable and burst out. Two hours later, the building collapsed from an earthquake.
Laika Alice
This dog became famous after the Spitak earthquake. On December 7, A. Garibyan and his darling went on a regular walk. It was in the city of Leninakan. Alice refused to return to the house. She howled and barked. The terrified owner called the police, on the radio, in the City Council, but nowhere was his message taken seriously.
Garibyan decided to play it safe and took his relatives out of the house. He recommended the same to neighbors. It was at this time that the elements erupted. Garibyan brought his savior from Kamchatka, where he lived for many years.
Speaking about how pets react to the approach of the earthquake, it should be noted that in Chile in 1835 every single dog left the city of Talciano.
Before the tremors in the Italian province of Friuli (in 1976), all cats carried their kittens out of their homes.
12 hours before the earthquake in Morocco (1980), cats and dogs began to leave their homes. And even camels, indifferent to everything, were in a hurry to leave the settlements.
How pets react to the approach of the earthquake, interested scientists after in 1975 they managed to successfully predict an earthquake in Liaoning Province (China), largely based on the unusual and strange behavior of animals. Snakes crawled out of the underground holes, awakening from hibernation, and pets hurried to leave their homes. It was decided to evacuate residents of Xichang City. Soon, the village was wiped off the face of the earth by a major earthquake. An accurate forecast and timely action by the authorities helped to minimize the number of victims.
In 1976, scientists gathered in the United States to discuss the possibilities of earthquake bio-prediction. Representatives of science recognized that this phenomenon needs to be studied more thoroughly.
Animal behavior in the wild
Observing the amphibians, scientists found that the male toads in the city of L'Aquila five days before the earthquake immediately left the spawning grounds, and returned there a few days after everything calmed down. Scientists have not yet been able to explain this behavior of animals before an earthquake. It is known that toads are very susceptible to weather changes, but weather stations did not record any changes in the weather before the start of tremors.
Crocodiles
According to the researchers, crocodiles are considered the most sensitive live seismographs. They did not miss a single natural anomaly. Five hours before the start of a major earthquake on Honshu Island, alligators began to make loud noises that looked very much like a growl; they lifted their tails and heads up. You must admit that such uncharacteristic behavior of animals during an earthquake cannot go unnoticed.
Crocodiles are able to sense an approaching earthquake 150 km from the epicenter.
Sharks and fish
Scientists believe that more than 600 animal species have the ability to predict abnormal natural phenomena . Sharks are also endowed with them. Any changes in atmospheric pressure are reflected in the water pressure, which, in turn, affects the behavior of the above-mentioned inhabitants of the depths.
The phenomenal "seismic" flair is endowed with a very small fish called the Nile elephant. In the mountainous regions of the Pamirs, an aquarium has been established with these creatures, which begin to behave uneasily four days before the earthquake.
There is a scientific theory that bottom fish are seismically sensitive.
Behavior of other animals
Mountain goats descend from the ranges to the plains a few days before the start of tremors. Wolves and foxes leave the forests. Groundhogs, even hibernated, wake up and leave their burrows a day before a natural disaster. As you can see, the behavior of animals during an earthquake comes down to the desire to leave the territory of seismic disturbance.
On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, on the evening before the earthquake, thirty elephants descended from the mountains. They lined up, without touching either crops or buildings. Mighty animals simply stood and looked at the doomed village, and then turned and hid in the jungle. Today, the inhabitants of the ruined village are sure that the animals warned them of the danger, but remained incomprehensible to people.
In the state of California (USA), where the most devastating earthquakes occurred, cells with mice and rats are placed. They are being watched by the latest electronic devices. At the slightest change in the behavior of animals, the signal goes to the specialists of the Seismography Center.
Today we told you how pets react to an earthquake approach. Perhaps if you carefully monitor your pets, you can avoid the many troubles that nature can bring us.