Hi peeps, Ruan over here.  

I’m really glad to be here once again updating our 286th post at VPFI!

ANIMAL FORECASTERS

Do you think animals can predict the weather or other natural events? Farmers living in the coutryside think so. For hundreds of years, they have observed animals and noticed many things about the way animals act. For exemple, some farmers believe that if they see swans flying into the wind, a hurricane is coming. Or, when cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming. there are many ttraditional stories connecting animals and natural events. Some scientists are taking another look at animals to see if there is any truth behind these stories and beliefs. They have found some surprising things.

Kiyoshi Shimamura is a Japanese earthquake researcher. He noticed an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquakes hit. Then, he did an investigation of twelve public health centers in Kobe, Japan. These health centers treated people after a big earthquake. Shimamura noticed that the month before the big earthquake, treatment for animals bites had increased. In fact, aggressive behavior in dogs, such as bitting and barking loudly, jumped 60 percent!

Other animals change their behavior before an eathquake as well. For example, fish in ponds or lakes begin swimming together in large groups only in the middle of the water abd not near the edges. Also, birds may fly away from their nests for many days, leaving their eggs unprotected. These behaviors suggests that animals may able to predict natural events, such as earthquakes, better than people.