Warnings from the wild

There might be more to Fido's panic-stricken shivering before a storm. With natural disasters on the rise—the rate of disasters rose from an average of 400 in the 1980s to almost double in the last decade—animals might just turn out to be mankind’s lifesavers. The Nepal earthquake in April this year and Taiwan’s Typhoon Soudelor this month are just two recent examples of nature’s wrath.

Before an earthquake, hordes of creatures—big and small (including ants!)—have been seen fleeing the site of imminent doom. While some claim that animals have a mysterious “sixth sense”, others attribute such behaviours to simple biology.  It’s been said that animals can sense abnormalities in vibrations or changes in air pressure, prompting them to head in a different direction.

However, those who believe in mysticism suggest that animals have a higher sensitivity to an unknown—perhaps even supernatural—force. Following the December 2004 tsunami, some erroneous reports suggested that no animals perished as they had fled to higher ground.

Whether these theories are based in science or the metaphysical, the fact remains that animals, both wild and domestic, have keener senses than humans. Dogs have a remarkable sense of smell; birds migrate using celestial cues such as the position of the sun, moon or stars and the earth’s magnetic field; and bats locate food using echoes.

So the next time Puss suddenly bolts up a tree in fear, you might want to consider packing your bags.

(Image credit: www.nationalgeographic.com)

Tracking the mass migration of birds and other animals might help warn of natural disasters, as they are known to sense tectonic activity well before seismic shifts.

(Image credit: www.kdvr.com)

Bison fleeing Yellowstone National Park in 2014 sparked fears of volcanic eruption.