The Scouts Sensed the Quake!

I've lived in California for two years and last week experienced my first big(ish)Earthquake. Centered in Westlake Village, the 4.4 quake caused my Santa Monica dingbat to shake and sway. Being as there was not much damage nor injury associated with the incident, I feel OK saying that I enjoyed the quake - it made me feel like a real Californian.

The ten seconds (or however long it lasted) of shaking was not even the most interesting part. A few seconds prior to the quake, my dog and the dog I was watching for the weekend seemed to sense it coming. Involved in an intense stuffed animal tug-of-war, the two pups simultaneously dropped the toy as their ears perked up and they stood at attention. One second later the shaking started.

Animals sensing earthquakes is not new - the first written account dates to 373 B.C., when nearly all wild animals left ancient Helike before a quake annihilated the Greek city. Some posit that animals feel the earth vibrate before humans; others think they can detect electrical charges and or gas released from the earth.

While American seismologists downplay animal prediction, Asian authorities regularly rely on it - partially based on animal behavior, Chinese officials evacuated Haicheng in 1975 a few days before a 7.3-magnitude trembler would have injured or killed an estimated 150,000 plus people.

Non-believers claim that people recall the weird animal behavior only after the catastrophe has occurred and that if nothing had happened the people wouldn't have remembered the antics at all. I can honestly tell you that I consciously noted that the dogs were acting strange seconds before the tremor occurred. Plus, similar accounts of animal predictions are seen throughout the world and throughout history - how could everyone have the same stories and/or suffer the same memory problem?

Dog behavior has been associated not just with earthquakes, but with other natural disasters such as storms, fires and avalanches as well as human disasters, such as diabetic seizures, heart attacks and even cancer. Not only do dogs have advanced senses, they are uncanny judges of body language and can actually read mood and emotion. This is far more than human or machine will ever be able to achieve. Maybe instead of spending millions on technological prediction for natural disasters we should just listen to nature.

If you are not convinced, watch this: