Can animals detect an impending earthquake

A.� This theory, that animals display unusual behaviour, indicating an approaching earthquake, up to half an hour before it hits, has long been a subject of controversy and�has both supporters and sceptics.

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Q.� What kind of things do the animals do

A.� All kinds of apparently otherwise unaccountable behaviour have been observed from horses bolting from stables to chickens refusing to lay eggs.

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One particularly notable behaviour is when animals leave a subsequently earthquake hit zone en masse. Such wholesale desertion was apparently seen before the 1960 Agadir earthquake in Morocco, the 1963 earthquake that razed Skopje, Yugoslavia to the ground and the 19966 earthquake in Tashkent, Russia.

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Q.� What possible explanations are there for this special ability

A.� The general belief is that animals are much more in tune with their environments, and therefore more sensitive to changes in it, than are humans.

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There is no concrete explanation as to why animals could detect an earthquake before it happens but there are lots of theories.

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As animals are able to hear noises at frequencies inaudible to the human ear, their ability to pick up high frequency noises created by fracturing rocks is one postulated explanation.

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That animals are able to detect changes in the magnetic fields before an earthquake is another possible explanation. Certain animals, migrating birds, waterfowl, dolphins and even bees, have an inbuilt 'compass' with which they navigate, even when they don't know where to go. The compass is made of the mineral magnetite. The pressure caused in a potential earthquake zone may be sufficient to change the direction of the magnetic field, which these animals can detect with their compass.

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Q.� So, is it just migratory animals that can predict earthquakes

A.� Like I said, this is just one of many theories, another suggests that some dogs are able to predict earthquakes long before the first tremor shakes the ground. In Japan and China, dogs, along with more standard scientific instruments, are part of the national earthquake warning systems. Experts have found that dogs become restless hours or even day before earthquakes occur.

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In one famous case in 1975 Chinese officials in Haicheng were so concerned about unusual animal behaviour that they ordered 90,000 residents to leave the city. Within hours of the order a huge earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale wiped out 90% of the city’s buildings.

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Do you have a question about an animals apparent paranormal powers Click here to ask.

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by Lisa Cardy