Tsunami adds to belief in animals' "sixth sense"

Reuters ^ | 12/30/04 | Ed Stoddard

[trenton1776]

Hmm. If animals really can detect thunderstorms or earthquakes, it's likely due to good hearing or possibly the smell of ozone in the air?

Let's assume with the earthquake in Asia, the animals were able to hear the quake before the tsunami arrived (though I doubt that many animals were within the range of the water to begin with). Sound travels around 700mph thru air, but I don't know how fast thru water. I know these waves can travel hundreds of miles per hour, but I doubt they are going as fast a sound waves. Animals with good low frequency hearing, such as elephants, might actually have some "warning". It might be interesting to see if some of the elephants in Asia were acting strangely right after the sound waves would have reached them. It's likely that at least some humans were watching elephants somewhere in the area when it occured.

[Kerfuffle]

Hmmmm... now that I think about it, you never saw any squirrls or chipmunks around at Kerry rallies, didya?

[NittanyLion]

It seems unlikely that animals would recognize a low frequency rumbling means they should run for higher ground. I think a more plausible explanation is that they are generally located further inland, and when the first waves hit they ran in the other direction instead of standing around to gawk likes humans are prone to do.

No sixth sense required for either of those things...

[blurb]

I'm sure the feminists love this kind of story.

[Hatteras]

I read an article a few years ago about some guy in California that would predict eartquakes based on the number of lost pet ads in the paper. His research showed that the number of ads routinely soared within the last day or two before a major earthquake.

He looked like kind of a nut, but he did have some facts at his disposal...

[Mamzelle]

I don't see why this is a "sixth" sense at all--if it shows to be a genuine phenomena, it should be simple to explain. Most animals already have senses better than our own--smell, hearing--and might well be better at paying attn to them.

[Nita Nupress]

There is a dead animal in the gruesome photo on this thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1310424/posts?page=5#5 at reply #5. At first I thought it was a baby, but the feet look much too small to be anything but a cat or dog.

THE PHOTO IS VERY DISTURBING. Don't go if you think it may upset you. The animal is in the bottom left-hand corner.

[EEDUDE]

When I was in High School in North Carolina, we had a hurricane coming up the coast and about to strike us.

The birds just went nuts. We had twenty or thirty blackbirds which flew down our chimney an hour or so before the storm hit.

Wierd. I think they responded to changes in barometric pressure.

[freethinkingman]

My theory is that one can train one's self to a hightened state of permanent alertness. I spent many years on a walking beat in the city....wee hours, totally outwardly focused, looking, listening, smelling, making sub-conscious notes. It becomes a mode after a while. I think soldiers must get this happening, too. Fishermen get it: survival, in all three examples, depends on analysis of environment.

I agree only you left out hunters. I have many times smelled my quarry before sighting them, my broother still thinks I am making this up. On another note about animal sith sense. Most seem to be posting about animals other senses and I indeed believe that these basic senses 9 times out of 10 is what enables the animal to survive. It is just a higher level of sense. Wheteher we are talking about a Deers ability to see movement at great distance or a Turkeys ability to pinpoint your location from a single cluck on the call.

The ability for the animals to see or hear the coing waves or the initial quake I would argue would not be part of the 6th sense that I believe they have.

Their sixth sense comes in, most of the time in my experience as a sportsman, when you are in the field with out a gun and just observing nature you can walk right up on them and they will not spook. But put a gun in your hand and try it. I read once where the vibe if you could call it that, put out by predators is picked up by animals of prey and acted upon. You can believe this or not as I have no way of proving it other than field experience that could be subject to many other factors.

[bvw]

We have most of the same sub-sonic detetcion abilities. Of course we do -- mammals are mammals. If dogs or elephants can have it we'll have it in some lesser degree. However we overwhelm ourselves in the speech and day-time visual channels. It takes a lot of practise to develop those VLF sensing abilities. I've read that many of the blind do. I've tried to develop my own.

[nmh]

You're absolutely right. Birds can tell you allot if you pay attention to them.

[upchuck]

Hmmmm... now that I think about it, you never saw any squirrls or chipmunks around at Kerry rallies, didya?

Excellent observation.

But I think all the local animals fled when they saw the approaching RATs :)