In 1975, hundreds of snakes emerged from hibernation earlier than usual before a powerful earthquake struck Haicheng, China. A similar incident was observed in the US in 2014: golden-winged warblers changed their flight routes over hundreds of kilometers before a tornado occurred. Such observations align with ancient legends about animals "fleeing" before natural disasters.
This is reported by "BBC Wildlife."
Despite these compelling stories, modern science lacks sufficient evidence that animals can reliably predict natural disasters. The main problems in research are:
– The absence of long-term baseline data on normal animal behavior, making it difficult to accurately determine what constitutes a true "anomaly" before a disaster;
– Observations are often collected retrospectively, after the event;
– Distortions in human perception (a tendency called confirmation bias) sometimes lead us to see patterns that do not exist.
A study published in 2018 by the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Germany showed that strange animal behavior before earthquakes is often linked not to the main strong earthquake itself, but to smaller tremors that precede it. This suggests that animals are not foreseeing future disasters but are reacting to changes that have already occurred.
Animal Sensitivity is Not a "Prediction"
Researchers admit that many species are more sensitive to environmental changes than humans. Some animals can sense ultrasound, fluctuations in magnetic fields, or very subtle changes in air pressure; these changes sometimes occur before certain disasters. However, these sensitivities do not yet create a clear and practical basis for reliable prediction of natural disasters.
Currently, scientists continue to investigate the topic. The "ICARUS" project (international cooperation to study animal behavior using space technologies) equips animals with transmitters to collect data on their movements and possible reactions to natural phenomena. The accumulation of such data may help to better understand whether patterns exist that could become part of early warning systems in the future. (qaynarinfo)