Comments on: Can Animals Forsee Natural Disasters?

By: Mackenzie

Mackenzie — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:15:30 +0000

wholook, you’re correct… that video is from Eureka, California. That was a magnitude 6-something earthquake that we had here in January. The reactions of animals to these sorts of things are really fascinating… I’ve heard so much about how animals react to natural disasters, but at the time of this quake (the biggest I’ve ever felt, and I’ve been through a few now), I was at the stables surrounded by over 40 horses, none of whom really reacted at all. They just waited for the earth to stop shaking and then went on about their business.

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:36:58 +0000

Why so much criticism of my comment? The article is entitled with the word “foresee” right in there and the verbiage is contained throughout the article. I came here via the Twitter link precisely based on that wording. Is asking people to write journalistic articles in standard English so much?

Im my maligned opinion, I would’ve written this article entitled “Can Animals WARN about Natural Disasters”.

I won’t even get into the fact that the Chinese (Com) gov’t has a vested cultural interest in promoting this line of thought that animals sense earthquakes, something they’ve been promoting for 40 years, etc, etc.

By: Katy

Katy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:40:46 +0000

The guy sat behind the pillar moves pretty soon after the dog, you can see his chair swing round as he gets up just after the dog runs away.

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:39:10 +0000

I’m not surprised by this. Wildlife around the world is much more attuned to the planet naturally than humans are. As we have evolved and become reliant on computers, engineering etc we have lost touch with natural behaviours. Scientists have alos said that they believed humans could once ‘feel’ things before they occured, i don’t mean this in a psychic way, i mean as in they could feel a drop in pressure that would prelude an incoming storm for example, wildlife is only doing what comes naturally to it…it’s all about survival.

By: VonRiesling

VonRiesling — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:26:08 +0000

The dog takes off pretty close to the quake. I was in one quake in Santa Monica a few years ago where I could hear the thing coming like a train (the epicenter was offshore). There’s a good chance the dog was simply startled by the rumbling sound just ahead of the shaking.

By: Migu

Migu — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:26:44 +0000

Sam, stop arguing a completely useless point and go do something worthwhile. Everyone who actually read the article knows the title didn’t imply psychic premonitions or such garbage.

This is really interesting. While it’s only a slight heads-up (by the looks of it), it’s still impressive. I do hope no animals are abused attempting to utilize this, though.

By: roz

roz — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:44:54 +0000

why not snakes? crawling with their entire bodies on the ground would make em more sensitive to earth changes.

By: wholook

wholook — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:28:31 +0000

Here the video accompanies a paragraph about the earthquake in Chile, however, if you click into the Youtube page, the video description mentions Haiti instead. If the Telegraph is to be trusted, the video appears to originate from California.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6994896/Dog-bolts-to-help-owner-after-sensing-earthquake-video.html

By: issi

issi — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:19:21 +0000

sam, i think thats pretty much what’s being assumed. It would be rather strange if humans could sense earthquakes before all other animals, so inevitably this happens.

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:28:10 +0000

Not to burst your bubble, but these animals aren’t “forseeing” a future earthquake here. It’s akin to a dog hearing a car approaching from a further distance away than a human could. It isn’t “forecasting” in any sense of the word, just a greater refinement in their senses.

To put it more simply, a near-sighted man with his glasses could say his eagle-eyed friend “foresees” the arrival of a friend walking down the street but it has nothing to do with either “predicting” anything. It’s present-time awareness.

Secondly, the animals aren’t “sensing” an upcoming earthquake but whatever seismic disturbances are happening NOW that causally come first before the earthquake. Assuming this capability even exists in animals (which I have no idea).

Thanks