Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Earthquake prediction - A Sixth Sense for our friends with feathers, scales or fur?


Earthquake prediction - A Sixth Sense for our friends with feathers, scales or fur?

Did Bo Obama feel the 5.8 magnitude earthquake shaking the east coast today? Or maybe we should check in with the critters at the national zoo?  Reports of animals acting wacky before the quake have again started conversation about a special sense.  The USGS gives a scientific theory here:

“We can easily explain the cause of unusual animal behavior seconds before humans feel an earthquake.  Very few humans notice the smaller P wave that travels the fastest from the earthquake source and arrives before the larger S wave. But many animals with more keen senses are able to feel the P wave seconds before the S wave arrives.  As for sensing an impending earthquake days or weeks before it occurs, that's a different story.”

What do you think about animals sensing earthquakes? Have your pets ever acted strangely before the ground shook