What Do Pets Know That We Don't?

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

09 Jul 2007 06:50 PM

Do animals have a sixth sense when it comes to natural disasters? We can see how our pets are sensitive to human moods; are they also sensitive to the planet itself?

Some scientists are skeptical, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence.

• In 1975, animal behavior prompted an evacuation of the city of Haicheng in China days before an earthquake, saving more than a hundred thousand lives.
• Ancient Greeks noted that even rodents, snakes, and insects fled the city of Helice before an earthquake in 373 BC.

Even the folks who do believe that animals can sense disaster aren't sure why or how. Do they smell a change in the air? Are different gasses coming up from the ground in such small amounts human noses can't detect them? Is it a change in sound, or a vibration so faint humans can't feel it? Could animals be sensing electromagnetic waves from the earth?

A study at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada looked at how a hundred and ninety three dogs responded to an earthquake. The quake had an epicenter in the Seattle, Washington area, and was felt in Vancouver. A day before the earthquake, about half the dogs showed increased levels of anxiety and activity.

The study leader believes it was audio cues that caused the response -- the sound of rocks in motion below the earth's surface. Why? Because the fourteen hearing-impaired dogs in the study showed little to no reaction. Only one deaf dog -- who lived with a dog who could hear -- became anxious, possibly because his playmate was agitated. As further evidence, the study noted that dogs with pointy ears tended to react more than dogs with floppy ears; floppy ears tend to muffle sounds.

But do the animals become agitated because they associate the sound with an earthquake? Or is the grating of rock on rock just really annoying? Scientific opinion leans towards the latter. In the 2004 tsunami that devastated nations along the Indian Ocean, animals had a better survival rate than humans. More proof that sensory input sent the animals fleeing the ocean? Perhaps.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger

Courtney Mroch (9169) 10 Jul 2007 12:51 PM

I believe animals signal us to all kinds of weather activity, from disasters to just what we can expect from season to season. Some winters you'll see birds building extra sturdy nests to keep them warm through winter and such. And Murph and other dogs we know can hear thunder long before my human ears hear it. I don't know how they can sense disasters exactly, but I am in the camp that believes they do. Neat article, Aimee!