Can Animals Predict Natural Disasters - The Connection Between Nature and Animals

Do animals have a sixth sense to be able to predict earthquakes?

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tornadoes, landslides, forest fires, storms, and the list goes on. These are the natural disasters that make headlines too often in a year. Very often, it comes without sufficient warning. We are left powerless to protect ourselves against the violent, swift and arbitrary stamp that nature leaves in its destructive path.

With little that we can do in the battle with nature’s fury, we look to science to assist us in predicting anything that will offer us some shield against the torments we face from weather, and other planetary events. We view ourselves as the smarter species. We have technological advancements and scientific studies that help us understand what is happening. Yet, when you read stories like the Tsunami in 2004 in Thailand and learn that every animal that was free to move on their own, escaped the tsunami unscathed. According to Wikipedia.com the human death toll was nearly 228,000, many of whom were swept away from the tsunami waves.

Besides predicting earthquakes, on farms, chickens and other animals become nervous before a storm strikes. It is believed that animals probably do not have a sixth sense about meterological or earthquake event. Rather, it is believed, they use their five senses in a superior and more efficient way than human beings use their senses. Most animals can hear better, and they may be more in tune to nature than humans do. Hurricanes, for example produce sound waves at too low a frequency for humans to hear, but in a range, they are able to pick up. This could give the animal warning for an impending storm. Air and water pressures change with altered weather patterns and an animal may sense this difference. Changes in barometric pressures may indicate to the animal to go into a protective mode to seek shelter. It may merely be a survival instinct that allows them to perceive, what we cannot. In tropical storms, it has been noticed that even sharks swim into deeper waters, from a slight drop in the barometric pressure. Birds and insects also pick up the tiniest changes and will find safety in their nests, hives, rocks, etc.

A dog’s sense of smell could be as much as 100,000 times better than a person’s. Dogs have been know to be able to smell certain types of cancer in people. It has been said that dogs can smell fear. They may pick up that fear sense from other animals who perceived the impending disaster in a different way, or they may smell chemical changes in the air from the earthquake or other event. Scientists think some animals can see ultraviolet light and other sensations, we may not be aware of.

Some have watched animal behavior before winter arrives. American Indians used to observe where bears went to hibernate to determine the severity of the upcoming winter season. They would look at how deep the bear cave was, and look at the fur on the bear’s paws. Heavy fur would mean a snowier, colder winter.

Going back to several years ago, and prior to the series of events affecting Japan after the earthquake on March 11, 2011, a Japanese doctor, named Kiyoshi Shimamura had noticed an increase in dog bites and other odd dog behavior just prior to major earthquakes in Japan. Not only did dog bites increase, but excessive dog barking increased 18% in the months prior to an earthquake. At the epicenter, there was a 60% increase in dog barking complaints. Scientists refute that the dog barking may be related to seismic events. Animals may see birds fleeing, or unusual sounds or other mammals, and take these cues to mean something is happening. There are no clear answers as to what makes them know, but it is apparent they listen to their instinct. Science does agree that animals are responding to real perceptions from the environment, and do not think it is additional sense that enables them to react to what may be imperceptable to us. Few believe this is a paranormal event.

In all likely animals are better designed than we are, to pick up the slightest changes to temperature, sound, vibration, electromagnetic fields, atmospheric pressure changes and even chemical activity. This ability to sense these variations gives them a perceptive ability to survive great danger. This may be a highly developed aspects of animals, or it may be a basic primal trait that has enabled the species to survive millions of years.

Shortly before the Dec 26th tsunami in Thailand, about 12 elephants began trumpeting calls from a village 50 miles north of where the tsunami struck. It correlates with the timing of the 9.0 earthquake in the ocean. About an hour prior to the waves reaching shore and causing the massive destruction, elephants again became agitated, and ran for higher, safer ground. Flamingos, and other birds left the area well before the tsunami hit. In the Yala National Park, in Sri Lanka, an area very hard hit by the tsunami, all the wildlife from leopards and tigers, to bore, water buffalo, deer, monkeys, reptiles and elephants escaped to higher ground. No animal big or small was harmed by the tsunami. Witnesses said they saw dogs running to the hill tops way before any human even conceived that a tsunami could be arriving. Bats, which are normally nocturnal were awake and active about 30 minutes prior to the tsunami. People have told stories of their dogs refusing to go for their daily walk on the beach that morning. Monkeys were refusing treats of bananas, all prior to the tsunami.

With all the sophisticated technology, we have, with our higher brain capacity, and with our ability to dive below the sea and zoom into space, it leaves the question, what did these animals know, that we did not, or could not perceive? With all the technology we have, scientists are not able to predict earthquakes. It is important to be prepared. We need to consider that animals, from mammals to birds and bugs have abilities we do not. Their senses are superior to us in many ways,and this allows them to perceive things we may not be aware of. Or maybe animals live closer to nature, they live simpler lives and perhaps they are more in tune with nature and themselves and these cues give them survival skills we have lost in our overly technological and busy lifestyles. While science looks for an explanation, the innate survival ability of animals large and small is something we all need to pay more attention to, and learn more about.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people in Japan and all the people around the globe who have loved ones in Japan. WE ARE ONE WORLD!

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