Researchers investigated whether animals are able to predict earthquakes and the result was controversial

There are those who believe that animals have the ability to sense seismic movements and this belief exists in different cultures and in different parts of the world. Perhaps you yourself have noticed your pet behaving strangely when faced with something that scares it. Suddenly, the animal becomes nervous and runs to hide between the owner’s legs or somewhere else where it feels safe. But does this skill really exist? Several studies have been carried out and some researchers have pored over the results of these researches to try to solve the “mystery”.

And how could it not be otherwise, the awesome.club shares with you the conclusions reached by experts after analyzing publications on the subject.

In the analysis carried out by the scholars, 729 reports produced within the scope of 180 studies were verified. They referred to the reaction of 130 species, including insects, birds, fish and mammals, most of which are dogs, cats and cattle. However, many publications were not based on really substantiated studies. And this failure prevented it from being possible to confirm whether animals can predict earthquakes.

It is not new that people report strange behavior in animals before some catastrophes. In moments before earthquakes, for example, elephants ran away, dogs became restless, cats hid, snakes and ants left their holes, as well as dolphins radically changed their location.

Seismologists at the German Research Center for Geosciences were surprised that many published reports confirming the theory were based solely on people’s experiences and reports. This meant that the research was neither adequate nor did it have the required level of scientific rigor, as it did not take into account the behavior of animals before and after the earthquake. Therefore, the conclusion was that such data simply could not be accepted as scientific evidence.

For a long time, people have claimed that the strange behavior displayed by their cats, dogs and even cows can warn when an earthquake is about to occur, but analysis of this information shows that there is no overwhelming evidence to support the claim. Although there are several reports on the Web validating the theory, there is still a lack of scientific evidence to consolidate the idea: most of the evidence consists of unique observations, never proven by science.

Experts cannot say with certainty whether the animal’s behavior has anything to do with the earthquake, as abnormal reactions could be due to environmental changes, health problems or the approach of predators.

Although not all of the strange behavior of the animals is related to earthquakes, it is likely that they react to tremors of lesser intensity, which precede those of great magnitude: in 90% of reports, reactions were observed within a radius of 100 kilometers from the epicenter of the tremor, in a period of 60 days. Then the researchers looked at when and where the phenomena had taken place, and proximity was significant.

“Future studies should include a clearer definition of what unusual or abnormal behavior on the part of animals means, as well as a physical explanation for the reaction,” say the researchers. The professionals themselves suggest that it is necessary to question concrete points in the next observations, in order to prove whether that behavior is really abnormal. And while other studies are carried out to corroborate or refute the thesis of the “seer” power of certain animals, new technologies are emerging in the sense of detecting the occurrence of an earthquake in advance.

What is your opinion about this theory? Have you ever witnessed anything unusual in an animal’s behavior before a natural event? Comment!