Animal based warning systems

[Gary]

I recently came across this article by Rupert Sheldrake - on a T. C. Lethbridge blog; and also on SoTT. Ever since the Chelyabinsk meteor earlier this year, I have wondered whether our 2D friends could act as early warning systems for impending Earth Changes (increased 'paranormal' or ultraterrestial activity too perhaps).


Premonitions by Rupert Sheldrake by williamshepherd Pro @ 2013-02-06 – 22:08:36
Appendix H. Premonitions by Rupert Sheldrake

© Rupert Sheldrake 2012 [1]

Many animals seemed to anticipate the great Asian tsunami on 26 December 2004, although their reactions were much closer to the actual event. Elephants in Sri Lanka and Sumatra moved to high ground before the giant waves struck; they did the same in Thailand, trumpeting beforehand.

According to villagers in Bang Koey, Thailand, a herd of buffalo were grazing by the beach when they 'suddenly lifted their heads and looked out to sea, ears standing upright.' They turned and stampeded up the hill, followed by bewildered villagers, whose lives were thereby saved.

At Ao Sane beach, near Phuket, dogs ran up to the hilltops, and at Galle in Sri Lanka, dog owners were puzzled when their animals refused to go for their usual morning walk on the beach.

In Cuddalore District in south India, buffaloes, goats and dogs escaped by moving to higher ground, and so did a nesting colony of flamingoes.

In the Andaman Islands, 'stone age' tribal groups moved away from the coast before the disaster, alerted by the behaviour of animals.

How did they know? The usual speculation is that the animals picked up tremors caused by the under-sea earthquake. But this explanation is unconvincing. There would have been tremors all over South East Asia, not just in the afflicted coastal areas.

Some animals anticipate other kinds of natural disaster like avalanches, and even man-made catastrophes. During the Second World War, many families in Britain and Germany relied on their pets' behaviour to warn them of impending air raids before official warnings were given. The animal reactions occurred when enemy planes were still hundreds of miles away, long before the animals could have heard them coming. Some dogs in London anticipated the explosion of German V-2 rockets. These missiles were supersonic and could not have been heard in advance.

With very few exceptions, the ability of animals to anticipate disasters has been ignored by Western scientists; the subject is taboo. By contrast, since the 1970s, in earthquake-prone areas of China, the authorities have encouraged people to report unusual animal behaviour, and Chinese scientists have an impressive track record in predicting earthquakes. In several cases they have issued warnings that enabled cities to be evacuated hours before devastating earthquakes struck, saving tens of thousands of lives.

By paying attention to unusual animal behaviour, as the Chinese do, earthquakes and tsunami warning systems might be feasible in many parts of the world that are at risk from these disasters. Millions of people could be asked to take part in this project through the media. They could be told what kinds of behaviour their pets and other animals might show if a disaster were imminent - in general, signs of anxiety or fear. If people noticed these signs, or any other unusual behaviour, they would immediately telephone a hotline with a memorable number - for example, in California, 1-800-PET QUAKE. Or they could send a message on the Internet.

A computer system would analyze the places of origin of the incoming messages. It there was an unusually large number, it would signal an alarm, and display on a map the places from which the calls were coming. There would probably be a background of false alarms from people whose pets were sick, for example, and there might also be scattered hoax calls. But if there was a sudden surge of calls from a particular region, this could indicate that an earthquake or tsunami was imminent.

Exploring the potential for animal-based warning systems would cost relatively little. From a practical point of view, it does not matter how animals know: they can give useful warnings whatever the explanation. It it turns out that they are indeed reacting to subtle physical changes, then seismologists should be able to use instruments to make better predictions themselves. If it turns out that presentment plays a part, we will learn something important about the nature of time and causation. By ignoring animal premonitions, or by explaining them away, we will learn nothing.[2]

End Notes

[1] First published as part of Chapter 9 Are Psychic Phenomena Illusory? in The Science Delusion: Freeing the Spirit of Enquiry by Rupert Sheldrake (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 2012, 392 pages, £8.99, ISBN 978 1 444 72794 4).

[2] See also three other books by Rupert Sheldrake: Seven Experiments That Could Change The World (1994; new edition 2002); Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home (1999; new edition 2011); The Sense of Being Stared At (2003).

http://tclethbridge.blog.co.uk/2013/02/06/premonitions-by-rupert-sheldrake-15508217/

also on SoTT http://www.sott.net/article/258271-Are-psychic-phenomena-illusory




By way of example, I found this article on SoTT today:


Ice Age Cometh: Snowy Owl invasion coming in North America?
Scott Kruitbosch
rtpi.org
Wed, 27 Nov 2013 06:41 CST


Snowy Owls (Bubo scandiacus) are one of the most magnificent and well-recognized species on the entire planet. This would be part of the reason why we chose them to be our new logo, and the Snowy pictured within it is adapted from Roger Tory Peterson's "Arctic Glow". As a raptor lover in general they are one of my favorites, and living on the Connecticut coast for nearly my entire life I had the chance to enjoy them during fall and winter seasons as Roger did throughout his as he often lived and worked in the same areas.

After seeing a sudden burst of eBird entries and list serv reports of Snowy Owls across southern Canada and the upper United States in the last week I could not resist commenting on them on Facebook and Twitter yesterday. When I did I got a tremendous reaction from excited people contacting me telling me they would be looking for them or sharing photos of birds they had seen in the last few days. Here's a screen capture of the eBird map of Snowy Owls for November 2013 as of today.



Snowy Owls always pop up in these areas during late November and often continue in small numbers into the winter, but there seem to be a lot appearing rather suddenly. Will we have a brief movement or will a major irruption occur this winter? More have been reported than shown on the map on the various communications mediums birders employ - from texts to emails to forums - and I hope everyone who is lucky enough to spot one ends up entering the sighting into the permanent, protected and easily explored eBird databases. The best places to find Snowy Owls are beaches, marshes, airports and fields. They prefer environments that resemble the arctic tundra where they spend most of their lives. A spot like Boston's Logan Airport is famous for Snowy Owls as it offers several desirable traits with it being a remote, open coastal area.

Please remember that if you find a Snowy Owl it has flown all the way here very likely because it is frantically searching for food and is starving and exhausted. Give it as much room as you can while viewing it and allow it to hunt without being disturbed. While we have no control over whether or not there will be an irruption and should not feel guilty over enjoying seeing them if there is a sizable flight south we can control how much we do (or hopefully do not) pressure them while they are among us. Recording the sighting in eBird also helps as you'll be making a contribution to conservation as a citizen scientist.

While you're in the field keep an eye out for Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Shrikes, Snow Buntings and other winter birds that are now on the move and being widely reported across the U.S.


http://www.sott.net/article/269326-Ice-Age-Cometh-Snowy-Owl-invasion-coming-in-North-America


What about the behaviour of our 2D friends in our own backyard. Perhaps if we paid more attention and began to record weird animal behaviour we could see a pattern emerging that would assist us, like "...the Andaman Islands, 'stone age' tribal groups moved away from the coast before the disaster, alerted by the behaviour of animals."

At the moment we still have access to data provided by scientific instruments via the internet. But for how much longer I wonder? Cherie the dog or Higgins the horse (my girls pet) and their friends could be of great assistance to us in the very near future. :)

 

[Eva]

[...]
What about the behaviour of our 2D friends in our own backyard. Perhaps if we paid more attention and began to record weird animal behaviour we could see a pattern emerging that would assist us, like "...the Andaman Islands, 'stone age' tribal groups moved away from the coast before the disaster, alerted by the behaviour of animals."

At the moment we still have access to data provided by scientific instruments via the internet. But for how much longer I wonder? Cherie the dog or Higgins the horse (my girls pet) and their friends could be of great assistance to us in the very near future. :)

I think that's a good point Anam Cara.
I remember my family knowing when it would rain by reading the cats' way of bathing themselves.

Maybe wild or wildish animals would show their anxiety in more obvious ways than pets though. I'm judging from my dog who shows his "anxiety" by simply laying down beside me on the floor instead of his usual fluffy bed in the living room. Othertimes he has sensed earthquakes, tilted his head and smelled the air for a few seconds then went back to sleep.
I think it may have to do with our pets' survival instincts being dumbed down -- either that or my pet is too certain he'll be taken care of!

 

[Gary]

I agree Eva - the 'wilder' or less 'domesticated' species (animals and humans) would seem to have a more finely tuned 'survival instinct' available.

Those animals that have been around for a long time, such as horses, still retain some genetic coding perhaps relating to surviving predators. From speaking to folk down the stables, alot of horses get very distressed when they sense pigs nearby - probably as boars would once attack their kind.

We always stable our horses when its bonfire night (5th November) as they are afraid of the fireworks. Makes me wonder if all those flashes in the sky and very loud noises remind them of a time of celestial cometary activity.

So I am beginning to pay more attention to my local 2D friends, and record any unusual behavior to see if it matches any observable or recorded phenomena (fireball sightings, booms, torrential rainfall etc) to make a simple database. With rapidly increasing environmental/earth change/celestial activity etc, there may be much to record soon.

 

[Gary]

Unusual Animal Behavior Prior to Earthquakes: A Survey in North-West California

by: David Jay Brown & Rupert Sheldrake

Abstract

During November of 1996 a telephone survey of 200 Santa Cruz County households was carried out in North-West California to find out how many people have observed unusual animal behavior prior to an earthquake. 15%
(N=30) of those surveyed reported that they have witnessed at least one occurrence of an animal acting unusual before an earthquake. Common observations included reports that the animals appeared frightened, agitated, excited, disoriented, or were missing. 66% (N=132) of households surveyed had pets. 57% (N=17) of those people who observed this phenomenon were pet owners, while 43% (N=13) were non-pet owners.
This phenomenon was observed 53% (N=1!9) of the time in dogs, 19% (N=7) of the time in cats, 6% (N=2) of the time in chickens, 6% (N=2) of the time in other birds, 6% (N=2) of the time in horses, 6% (N=20) of the time in cows, and 3% (N=I) of the time with possums. The lead times prior to the earthquake ranged from several seconds to a week, with the most frequent observations occurring between several minutes and several days prior to the earthquake. The implications of these results are discussed with regard to the possibility that some animals may possess a sensitivity to certain earthquake precursors, which could serve to help warn people of an approaching earthquake.

Introduction

Observations of unusual animal behavior prior to earthquakes have been reported around the world since the beginning of recorded history (Tributsch, 1982). In particular, the Chinese and Japanese have recorded these observations for many hundreds of years (Lee, Ando, and Kautz, 1976), and have made attempts to incorporate these reports into an earthquake warning system with some success (Allen, 1976). For example, on February 4, 1975 the Chinese evacuated the city of Haicheng several hours before a 7.3 magnitude earthquake largely on the basis of unusual animal behavior observations (Allen, 1976).

The anomalous behaviors most frequently reported include restlessness or excitability, a heightened sensitivity to mild stimulation, vocal responses, a tendency for borrowing, premature termination of hibernation, and leaving their normal habitats. The precursory lead times vary from just a few seconds to more than several months. (Lee, Ando, and Kautz, 1976). These unusual behaviors have been reported in a wide diversity of animal species, including many varieties of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and insects (Tributsch, 1982).

However, only a limited number of scientifically credible accounts of this phenomenon are available. The vast majority of observations are anecdotal, and are usually classified as folklore. One well-researched book on the subject-- When the Snakes Awake-- details much of what is known historically and scientifically about earthquakes and unusual animal behavior (Tributsch, 1982). Scientific accounts of this phenomenon through the mid seventies have been summarized in the "Proceedings of the 1976 USGS Conference on Abnormal Animal Behavior Prior to Earthquakes" (Evernden, 1976).

Some compelling evidence comes from Japan, where it has been reported that certain fish develop a heightened sensitivity to stimulation due to electrical changes prior to some earthquakes (Hatai and Abe, 1932; Suyehiro, 1968; Suyehiro, 1972.).

However, perhaps the most important evidence comes from a five year study conducted by the Stanford Research Institute-- Project Earthquake
Watch-- which obtained statistically significant results indicating that reports of unusual animal behavior increase prior to some earthquakes.
(Otis and Kautz, 1985).

The study reported upon in this paper was carried out as part of an international investigation into the unexplored abilities of animals, which began with the publication of Seven Experiments that Could Change the World (a book by one of this paper's authors). One primary thesis of the book is that there are many valuable research opportunities available which are relatively simple and inexpensive to carry out (Sheldrake, 1995).

This survey was done in order to find out how common these observations of unusual animal behavior are among the population of an earthquake-prone region. The survey was conducted by telephone in Santa Cruz County, California during November of 1996, and it involved 200 randomly-selected households.

Method

Data were collected by means of telephone interviews conducted by David Brown (D.B.), following a standard questionnaire format.

The households surveyed were in Santa Cruz County. Most were in and around the university-beach town of Santa Cruz, population 52,700, between Boulder Creek and Watsonville, in north-central California.
Santa Cruz was chosen because of its proximity to the epicenter of the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and the San Andreas Fault. Santa Cruz is also within D.B.'s local proximity, and calling within the area helped to minimize the cost of the study.

Households were selected from the Pacific Bell Santa Cruz County 1996 telephone directory (area code 408) using an electronic random number generator to determine the page and column number, as well as its position on the page.

D.B. introduced himself as follows: "My name is David Brown. I'm conducting a survey on pets and animals. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?" Approximately 20% of the people reached by phone agreed to partake in the survey. When a cooperative subject was found, D.B. then asked a series of questions and recorded the answers on a standard form as follows.

Name---------

Address

Tel:

1) Do you or does anyone in your household own a pet? Yes No

If yes, then: 2) What type of animal?

Species:

2a) If dog, then: What breed of dog?

3) Have you ever noticed your pet or any other animal exhibiting any type

of unusual behavior prior to an earthquake?
Yes No

If yes, then:

4) What type of behavior did you notice?

5) How long prior to the earthquake did you notice this behavior?

6) When and where was the earthquake

7) Where were you when this occurred?

location:

Statistical analysis was carried out... [Rupert]

Results

Pet Ownership

Out of 200 households surveyed, 132 had pets. Cats were the most common pet followed by dogs. The figures were as follows:

Cats 83
Dogs 69
Birds 7 (excluding chickens)
Rabbits 6
Fish 6
Lizards 3
Horses 2
Chickens 2
Rats 2
Hamster 1
Snakes 1

Most of these households had one kind of pet: 49 had cats only, and 38 had dogs only; 23 had both dogs and cats; 6 had cats and other pets (excluding dogs); 2 had dogs and other pets; 5 had cats, dogs, and other pets; 9 had only other pets.

The percentages of households with pets in Santa Cruz County was 66%, which is higher than the U.S. national averages of 57.9%. [Rupert-- I'm in the process of obtaining California state averages for pet owners.] There were also more cats represented in the survey than the national and state. The U.S. national averages are as follows: 37% own dogs, 31% own cats, 6% own birds, 3% own fish, and 1.5% own rabbits (Jaegerman, 1992).

Observations of unusual animal behavior prior to an earthquake were noticed in the following species:

Dogs 19
Cats 7
Wild Birds 2
Cows 2
Horses 2
Chickens 2
Pet Birds I (Canaries)
Possum 1

57% (N=17) of those people who observed this phenomenon were currently pet owners, while 43% (N=13) were non-pet owners. Non-pet owners were referring to previously owned pets or farm animals, other people's pets, and wild animals.

Types of Behaviors Noticed

The following descriptions and adjectives were used to describe the animal's unusual pre-earthquake behavior:

barking repeatedly : (won't stop, and for no apparent reason): 7 times with dogs.
appeared frightened or scared : 4 times with dogs. 2 times with cats.
was running around : 4 times with dogs. 1 time with a cat. 1 time with cows.
hiding or trying to hide : 3 times with dogs. 2 times with cats.
nervous ' : 1 time with wild birds. 1 time with pet bird. I time with dog.
missing or disappeared : 1 time with a dog. I time with a cat.
ran away_: 1 time with a dog. 1 time with a cat.
excited : I time with pet bird. 1 time with wild birds.
disoriented : I time with a dog. 1 time with a cat.
retreating into self : 1 time with a dog. 1 time with a cat.
restless : 2 times with dogs.
antsy and roaming more : 1 time for general farm animals-- horses, cows, chickens, dogs, and cats.
acting schizy : I time with a cat.
freaking out : I time with a cat.
seemed agitated : 1 time with chickens.
acting crazy: I time with a dog.
whining : 1 time with a dog. 1 time with a cat.
running up and down trees _: I time with a cat.
appeared tense : 1 time with a dog.
looking and listening-: I time with a dog.
pecking one another aggressively : I time with wild birds.
closer to people : 1 time with a dog.
jumpy: 1 time with a dog.
skittish : 1 time with a dog.
flighty: 1 time with a dog.
acting uneasy : 1 time with cows.
act up: 1 time with cows.
wouldn't eat : I time with cows.
shaking : I time in with a dog.
squirrelly : I time with a cat.
pacing : I time with a cat.
howling : 1 time with a cat.
stillness or silence : 1 time with wild birds.
in unusual place : 1 time with a cat.
in a usual place at an unusual time 1 time with a possum.
looking around inquisitively : 1 time with a dog.
wild animal out of habitat : 1 time with a possum.
unsettled : 1 time with a dog.
leaving as a flock just moments before an earthquake : 1 time with wild birds.

Lead Time Prior to the Earthquake that the Animal's Unusual Behavior was Observed

The amount of lead time that the unusual behavior was observed prior to the earthquake ranged from several seconds to approximately a week, with the most frequent observations falling into the range of several minutes to several days. Lead time data for each type of animal are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1

Total 0-5 min 5 + min Hours Days Not Sure

Dogs 19 6 (32%) 3 (16%) 2 (10%) 5 (26%) 3 (16%)

Cats 7 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 3 (43%) 1 (14%)
Wild Birds 2 1 (50%) 1 (50%)
Cows 2 1 (50%) 1 (50%)
Chickens 2 1 (50%) 1(50%)

Pet Birds 1 1
Possums 1 1
Horses 1 1

People were often unsure of the amount of time, and had to estimate an approximation in retrospect. According to the reports, 32% (N=6) of the dogs behaved unusually less than 5 minutes prior to the earthquake. 16%
(N=3) did so over five minutes prior to the earthquake, but under an hour (approximately a 1/2 hour for one, ten minutes for the other two).
10% (N=2) appeared to react more than an hour to a day in advance (approximately "a day" for each of the two dogs). 26% (N=5) did so for more than a day in advance to several days in advance, ranging from a day and a half to three or four days. One week was the longest approximate lead time reported for a dog. 16% (N=3) of the dog observers were unable to estimate the amount of time.

29% (N=2) of cat observers report to have witnessed the unusual behavior less than 5 minutes prior to the earthquake. 14% (N=I) acted unusual slightly longer in advance (3 to 6 minutes was the estimate). 43% (N=3) were longer than an hour, but under a day (1 to 1 1/2 hours was the estimate for one, and "a day" for the other two) in advance. 14% (N=I) of cat observations occurred between a day and week in advance of the earthquake (between several days and a week was the estimate).

In the two instances with wild birds the first report was between an hour to an hour and a half in advance, while the other was estimated to be a day to a day and a half in advance. With regard to the cows, one estimate was several hours, the other was two to three days. The chickens were reported to act about a minute or so in advance in one instance, and several hours in advance in another. In the one instance of someone's pet birds (canaries) the lead time was estimated to be one or two days. The possum was reported to be out several hours before the earthquake in the middle of the afternoon. The horses were reported to be acting unusual several hours in advance of the earthquake.

Times and Locations of Earthquakes and Unusual Behavior

The majority of respondents were located in Santa Cruz County at the time that they observed the anomalous behavior.

In Santa Cruz County:

Santa Cruz 10
Watsonville 6
Aptos 3
Rio Del Mar 1
Capitola 1
Live Oak 1
Boulder Creek 1

Outside Santa Cruz County, but in California:

Salinas 1
San Jose 1
Sherman Oaks 1
Aromas 1
Correlates 1
Not Sure 1

Outside California:

Tacoma, WA 1

The majority of respondents were referring to the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which was centered several miles north of the city of Santa Cruz. One person referred to the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was centered several miles from her location in Sherman Oaks. The other respondents were unsure.

1989 Loma Prieta 18
1994 Northridge 1
Not Sure 1 1

Discussion

Report Reliability

The subjective nature of survey responses inherently raises questions of reliability. A possible source of bias in this study may stem from a tendency for people to exaggerate an animal's abilities due to their emotional attachment with the animal. Conversely, people who pay relatively little attention to animals may not observe them closely enough to be aware of these, perhaps, more subtle responses.

Bias could also result from either a belief in, or a 'denial of the possibility that animals have the ability to predict earthquakes. Also, because these observations are all reported in retrospect, and are associated with a powerful and often upsetting event, bias may result from the accompanying shock or trauma which could alter one's perception or memory of the experience.

It is beyond our current ability to know with any certainty how much these and other forms of bias influenced our data. What is evident, however, is that a substantial number of people believe that they have witnessed abnormal animal behavior prior to an earthquake.

Comparison of Animals and Behaviors

Dogs were the animal most frequently sited as behaving unusually prior to an earthquake. This is an especially interesting finding considering that there were more cat than dog owners in the study, and a previous survey of this same population found a correlation between this higher number of cat owners and a greater number of believers in "psychic" cats than dogs (Brown and Sheldrake, 1997). This finding of more "psychic"
cats had been somewhat counterintuitive as, in general, dog owners tend to have closer relationships with their pets than cat owners, and cats tend to be less sociable and more independent than dogs (Hart, 1995).

Unusual behavior is difficult to define, and determining if there is a characteristic behavior is not clear-cut, although there are some distinct patterns. For example, an intense fear that appears to make some animals cry and bark for hours, and others flee in panic has been reported often. Equally characteristic is the apparent opposite effect of wild animals appearing confused, disoriented, and losing their fear of people (Tributsch, 1982). Since there is experimental evidence that charged ionic particles can effect neurotransmitter ratios in animal brains, and that charged ions may be released prior to some earthquakes, it has been suggested that this may explain these two seemingly-contradictory behavior patterns (Tributsch, 1982).

In addition to the stories collected from the respondents in this survey, the authors of this paper have been collecting dozens of detailed accounts of unusual animal behavior prior to earthquakes through requests in newspapers and magazines, as well as on radio stations and internet sites.

Many people reported dogs vanishing or barking uncontrollably. A number of pet owners found their ordinarily calm cats suddenly darted off and hid, or paced around crying for a few minutes before the earthquake.
There were reports of goats and horses leaping around wildly, noisy birds suddenly becoming silent, or a whole flock of seagulls taking off all at once just before an earthquake. A few people noticed the number of roadkill increasing for several days before an earthquake. Although it's primarily accounts of dogs and cats that have been reported, many other types of animals in the wild, on farms, and in zoos; including horses, cows, goats, possums, rats, chickens, and other birds have been observed acting in unusual ways.

Possible Explanations for the Unusual Behavior, and Why More Research into the Extraordinary Abilities of Animals is Necessary

The anecdotal evidence presented in this paper does not necessarily imply the existence of earthquake prediction abilities in animals. Some of the mysterious behavior discussed in this paper may ultimately be explainable in terms of reactions to ordinary stimuli. People may sometimes misperceive or exaggerate an animal's abilities, and the anticipatory behavior may be projected upon them in retrospect. However, some of the unusual behavior discussed in this paper may be due to a genuine sensitivity to precursory earthquake signals, and when these results are combined with the results of previous studies and observations, a very strong case can be made for the existence of this phenomenon.

In the case that animals are actually reacting to precursory earthquake signals, the following explanations have been proposed:

1. Because many animals possess auditory capacities beyond the human range, it has been suggested that some animals may be reacting to ultrasound emitted as microseisms from fracturing rock (Armstrong, 1969).

2. Fish have a high degree of sensitivity to variations in electric fields, and because telluric current variations have been noted before some earthquakes, it has been suggested that this is what the fish may be reacting to (Ulomov and Malashev, 1971).

3. Because some animals have a sensitivity to variations in the earth's magnetic field (usually as a means of orientation), and since variations in the magnetic field occur near the epicenters of earthquakes (Chapman and Bartels, 1940), it has been suggested that this is what the animals are picking up on (Otis and Kautz, 1985). Marsha Adams, an independent earthquake researcher in San Francisco, claims to have developed sensors that measure low-frequency electromagnetic signals which allow her to predict earthquakes with over 90% accuracy, although this remains to be substantiated. Adams suspects that low-frequency electromagnetic
signals-- created by the fracturing of crystalline rock deep in the earth along fault lines-- are "biologically active", and that her instruments are picking up the same signals that sensitive animals do (Brown, 1997).

4. Some organisms respond to changes in the polarity and concentration of atmospheric ions, and it has been suggested that this sensitivity enables some animals to detect the air-ionizing effects of radon released from the ground in advance of certain earthquakes. (Ulomov and Mavashev, 1967). Tributsch has suggested that a piezoelectric effect may be at work here. On the average, the earth's crust consists of 15% quartz, and in certain areas it can be as high as 55%. According to Tributsch, the piezoelectric effect of the quartz is capable of generating enough electrical energy to account for the creation of airborne ions before and during an earthquake. This electrostatic charging of aerosol particles may be what the animals are reacting to.

Animals, also observed acting unusual in similar ways prior to thunderstorms, may have evolved a sensitivity to electrical changes in their environment (Tributsch, 1982).

5. The effects of radon gas on the level of air ionization explained above, can also be expected to change the field gradient, and dozens of animals have been shown to be sensitive to changes in the electric field gradient of the atmosphere (Chalmers, 1967).

6. The animals may be perceiving and responding to stimuli that currently science has no way to measure.

Experiments that can help us decide between these explanations are not easily performed, as studying earthquakes has inherent difficulties, because they are infrequent and unpredictable by their very nature.
However, further investigation in this area could help us discover what the animals are reacting to, and to allow us to build sensors to detect the earthquake precursory signals. We suspect that these types of investigations hold enormous potential for understanding animals better, and predicting earthquakes more reliably. If an understanding of what animals are reacting to were to be obtained, it's value would be tremendous.

However, even without understanding what the animals are reacting to, it is conceivable that an earthquake warning system could be created by networking people who observe animal behavior on a routine basis-- as Kautz and Otis did with Project Earthquake Watch, and the Chinese and Japanese have practiced for hundreds of years. Even something as simple as tracking the number of missing animals may prove to have some predictive value with regard to earthquakes. Retired USGS geologist James Berkland claims to be able to predict earthquakes with over 75% accuracy, in part through calculating the number of lost pet ads in the newspaper each day. (Brown, 1996).

The pool of untapped resources potentially residing right under our noses may be vast. There are between 51 and 58 million households in the U.S. with dogs, and 49 and 60 million households with cats (American Demographics, 1991). [Rupert-- I am in the process of obtaining statistics for California.] This huge untapped and easily accessible population of potentially geophysically-sensitive animals may be holding an enormous wealth of information.

Animal experiments in this area hold great promise. Although studying the possible relationship between earthquake precursors and animal behavior may prove challenging, utilizing the animals' apparent sensitivity to precursory signals may not be difficult, and the benefits could be enormous. When one considers the annual and historical devastation wrought by earthquakes in the form of lives, property, and valuable resources, it becomes increasingly clear why studying this apparent sensitivity in animals is so vital.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the people who took part in this survey, as well as Pamela Smart, Nina Graboi and Ralph Abraham for their valuable contributions.

David Jay Brown
P.O. Box 1082
Ben Lomond, California
95005 USA

Rupert Sheldrake
20 Willow Road
Hampstead, London
NW3 1TJ England

References

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Allen, C. "The Role of Animal Behavior in the Chinese Earthquake Prediction Program." In Abnormal Animal Behavior Prior to Earthquakes.
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Armstrong, B.H. "Acoustic Emission Prior to Rockburst and Earthquakes."
Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am.59, 1259-1279, 1969.

Brown, D.J. "Interview with James Berkland", unpublished, October, 1996.

Brown, D. J. "Interview with Marsha Adams", unpublished, October, 1996.

Brown, D.J., and Sheldrake, R. "Psychic Pets Part Two: A Survey in North-West California."

Chalmers, J.A. Atmospheric Electricity. Pergamon Press Inc., New York, 1967.

Chapman, S. and Bartels, J. Geomagnetism, Vol. 1. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1940, p. 194ff.

Evernden, J.F. (ed.) Abnormal Animal Behavior Prior to Earthquakes. U.S.
Dept. of Interior Geological Survey, Conference 1. Convened under the auspices of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, USGS, Menlo Park, CA, 23-24, September 1976.

Hart, L.A. "Dogs as Human Companions: A Review of the Relationship." In:
The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People, (ed. Serpell, J.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Hatai, S. and Abe, N. "The Responses of the Catfish, Parasilurus ascotus, to Earthquakes." Proc. Imperial Acad. Japan, 8, 1932, pp. 374-378.

Jaegerman, M. New York Times (National Edition) "Price Tag: The Top Ten Pets", November 12, 1992, p B-5.

W.H.K. Lee, M. Ando, and W.H. Kautz. "A Summary of the Literature on Unusual Animal Behavior Before Earthquakes." In Abnormal Animal Behavior Prior to Earthquakes. J.F. Evernden (ed.), National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, USGS, Menlo Park, CA, 23-24, September 1976, pp. 15-54.

Sheldrake, R. and Smart, P. "Psychic Pets: A Survey in North-West England."

Sheldrake, R., Seven Experiments that Could Change the World, Riverhead Books, 1995.

Suyehiro, Y. "Unusual Behavior of Fishes to Earthquakes." In Scientific Report, Keikyu Aburatsubo Marine Park Aquarium, Vol. 1, 1968, pp. 4-11.

Suyehiro, Y. "Unusual Behavior of Fish to Earthquakes, Il." In Scientific Report, Keikyu Aburatsubo Marine Park Aquarium, Vol. 4, 1972, pp. 1314.

Tributsch, H., When the Snakes Awake, MIT Press, 1982.

Ulomov, V.I. and Malashev, B.Z. "The Tashkent Earthquake of 26 April, 1966." Acad. Nauk. Uzbek, FAN, Tashkent, 1971.

Table 1. Replies to Questions

3. How long prior to the earthquake did you notice this behavior?

Numbers (and percentages) of animals reacting

Total 0-5 min 5 + min Hours Days Not Sure

Dogs 19 6 (32%) 3 (16%) 2 (10%) 5 (26%) 3 (16%) Cats 7 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 3 (43%) 1 (14%) Wild Birds 2 1 (50%) 1 (50%) Cows 2 1 (50%) 1 (50%) Chickens 2 1 (50%) 1(50%)

Pet Birds 1 1
Possum 1 1
Horses 1 1

(Note: Some people responded for more than one animal.)


http://www.animalsandearthquakes.com/survey.htm



Just looking at the recent erratic behaviour of one species - snakes, gives one food for thought. As well as perhaps being perceived as significant from a symbolic context, it sure seems like our 2D friends can/are giving us some possibly valuable information. From SoTT:

http://www.sott.net/article/198250-Symbolism-Snake-eats-its-own-tail

http://www.sott.net/article/265729-Escaped-snake-spotted-outside-home-in-Watford-UK

http://www.sott.net/article/265762-UK-Pensioner-shocked-to-find-4ft-king-snake-under-a-table-in-her-garden

http://www.sott.net/article/266219-14-year-old-finds-snake-in-shoebox-at-store-in-Gadsden-Alabama


These are just a very small selection, but this exchange is worth repeating. From a 'snakes in suits' perspective it seems appropriate to post it under Society's Child - but relating to the above article, it would probably fit into the Earth Changes section also (or Fire in the Sky).


Reader Comment Wed, 07 Aug 2013 08:18 CDT
By: sass

"Again, why these trivial articles on SOTT? And why under Society's Child? Am I missing something? What's the deal with the snakes, and more importantly, who cares. Will - Fireman Saves Cat Up Tree - be next?"


Re: Reader Comment Wed, 07 Aug 2013 10:03 CDT
By: Olesya

"if you use search function, you will see that there were many occurrences lately when snakes appeared in the unusual places and (or) exhibited unusual behavior. And to your question "what's the deal with the snakes, and more importantly, who cares" I'd like to answer that in the society we live in we have a lot of snakes... in suits that is, i.e. psychopaths"

http://www.sott.net/article/264718-Large-snake-discovered-in-Leicester-garden-pond-UK

 

[1peacelover]

Don't know if this is the right thread for this. In my culture when dogs howl it is usually attributed to either someone in the neighborhood is dying/recently died. When many dogs are heard howling especially in the darkness of night, the elders say that the Jumbies (Spirits) are traveling. Especially if the howling starts at one end of an area and the dogs along the path start howling too.

People here also believe animals can see things that are "out of range" of human senses. I think we have lost many of those abilities that tie us to the natural world.

Interestingly enough, the other day, one of my neighbors' sister transitioned, but all during the day until she passed, the dog across the street howled continuously. When she passed, the dog stopped its howling. My question was, "On a street full of dogs, why was that one the only one howling?"

 

[Gary]

Don't know if this is the right thread for this. In my culture when dogs howl it is usually attributed to either someone in the neighborhood is dying/recently died. When many dogs are heard howling especially in the darkness of night, the elders say that the Jumbies (Spirits) are traveling. Especially if the howling starts at one end of an area and the dogs along the path start howling too.

People here also believe animals can see things that are "out of range" of human senses. I think we have lost many of those abilities that tie us to the natural world.

Interestingly enough, the other day, one of my neighbors' sister transitioned, but all during the day until she passed, the dog across the street howled continuously. When she passed, the dog stopped its howling. My question was, "On a street full of dogs, why was that one the only one howling?"

Yes, as well as ESP relating to impending environmental/earth changes, animals may well perceive other phenomena outside the range of human senses, perhaps of paranormal/ultraterrestial/hyperdimensional nature.

 

[Gary]

Can Animals Predict Disaster?

Introduction


An elephant trumpets wildly, breaks a chain holding it to a tree, and flees to higher ground — just before a massive tsunami crashes ashore, drowning hundreds of thousands of people.

Did the elephant know the deadly wave was coming?

That’s the question explored by NATURE’s Can Animals Predict Disaster?

In interviews with scientists and eyewitnesses, NATURE probes the evidence that some animals may have senses that allow them to predict impending natural disasters long before we can.

Some creatures, for instance, may be able to “hear” infrasound, — sounds produced by natural phenomena, including earthquakes, volcanoes, and storms, that are inaudible to the human ear. This ability may give elephants and other animals enough time to react and flee to safety.

Another explanation may lie in animals’ sensitivities to electromagnetic field variations. Quantum geophysicist Motoji Ikeya has found that certain animals react to changes in electrical currents. He now regularly monitors a catfish, the most sensitive of the creatures he has tested, to aid him in warning others of coming disaster.

Follow NATURE as it reexamines ancient ideas about how animals can predict disaster which are now gaining credence in scientific circles.

To order a copy of Can Animals Predict Disaster?, visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for Can Animals Predict Disaster? was originally posted November 2005.


http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/can-animals-predict-disaster/introduction/130/




Who is Professor
Motoji Ikeya ?


It is more accurate to say - Who was Professor Ikeya? Professor Ikeya died suddenly in 2006.

Professor Ikeya was Professor of the Graduate School of Science, Dept of Physics, University of Osaka (from 1987) and of its Earth and Space Science Department from 1991. He was also the inventor of a versatile dating technique that covers a wide time range and is used internationally in dating bones and teeth in particular. It earned him the sobriquet, Mr ESR. His book, New Applications of Electron Spin Resonance, is a classic in the field.

But he was more widely-known - particularly in Japan - for his work on earthquake precursors and his electromagnetic model (EM) of a fault. He was sometimes affectionately called Professor Catfish. The catfish was one of his most experimented-upon laboratory animals as his earthquake precursor research progressed. The catfish is unusually sensitive to EM waves, and Ikeya believed these were released onto the earth's surface before large earthquakes.

His interest in EM waves and their relationship to earthquakes started soon after the Kobe Earthquake in 1995. For 30 years he had worked in an inter-disciplinary field between solid state physics, geology and anthropology and when the earthquake occurred he thought he might be able to bring scientific method to bear on the reports of unusual pre-earthquake phenomena that were collected at the time. He also collected precursor reports from >M7 earthquakes in Izmit (Turkey) (1999), Taiwan (1999), and Gujurat (2001). There were many things in common in the reports from all four quakes.

What caught Ikeya's attention in 1995 were reports of earthquake light just before the Kobe Earthquake. Ikeya believed they might be electric discharges ahead of the main shock, causing an atmospheric dark glow. He began to develop an electromagnetic model of a geological fault, believing that increasingly deforming pressures on rock before earthquakes were creating piezoelectric effects. Any change in the position or density of polarised charge could produce Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) EM waves capable of travelling long distances to the surface without a conductive path. On the surface these could create intense electric fields and EM waves up to very high frequencies. Ikeya believed animals, electronic objects, and even plants reacted to some part of a wide range of frequencies depending on their position relative to the epicentre, and their size and shape and amounts of exposed conductive tissue or type of circuitry. Ikeya was not the first to postulate an association between earthquakes, piezoelectric effects, EM waves and earthquake precursors, but he developed the theory enormously.

In his university laboratory he began exposing animals, electronic objects and plants to pulsed and static electric fields comparable to those that could be expected from the EM model. He also found he could produce reported atmospheric effects: cloud shapes and fine-weather fogs in the laboratory.

He exposed many different animals - from silk worms to crocodiles - to (mostly) ULF waves and created to his satisfaction the sorts of behaviours that were repeatedly reported of animals before the four quakes he studied.

The results of his experiments are detailed in 295 pages of an accessible academic book, Earthquakes and Animals, From Folk Legends to Science, published by World Scientific in 2004, and available from them. He also took numerous videos of his experiments, some of them edited for this website.

Professor Ikeya was well-known to Japanese TV media, particularly the Tokyo Broadcasting Service and his work was the subject of a BBC TV documentary. His findings met with continued scepticism in academic journals on the grounds that anecdotal reports were not suitable for scientific study, and that earthquakes could not be predicted in principle. Ikeya simply persevered, proving statistically that although people may see correlations where there are none, real precursors were being detected. Before he died he had produced 35 scientific papers for English language academic journals and 22 in Japanese. In addition to Earthquakes and Animals, he also wrote an illustrated children's book, What are our Pets Trying to Tell Us? (on this website) and two books for the Japanese market: Why do Animals Behave Unusually? - The Birth of Electromagnetic Seismology, and Precursors of Large Earthquakes.

IKeya never claimed to be able to accurately predict earthquakes in terms of magnitude, location and time using animal behaviours or other presursor phenomena - although the violent movements of a catfish in a laboratory 130km from the epicentre led him to successfully predict the Western Tottori earthquake (M 7.3) in 2000. But he did claim there was a scientific basis to the legendary and reported precursors, and that an informed interpretation of amalgamated data should permit a rough estimate to be made of the likely region and magnitude of a large quake, and its time to within several weeks.

He certainly believed that if the average person knew what to look out for in a range of atmospheric events, and the behaviour of domestic animals, pets, electronic appliances and devices at home and round about them, they would be prodded into better earthquake preparedness.

And he was very sure about one thing: that the legendary behaviour of animals before earthquakes is a response to EM waves produced by varying levels of rock stress, and that he had been able to reproduce these behaviours in his electric field experiments in the laboratory.

Professor Ikeya was a resourceful, energetic, persistent, enthusiastic and innovative researcher. It's a pity he didn't live to see the increasing scientific evidence that EM fields are associated with earthquakes.


http://www.eqsigns.net/WhoisIKeya.html


The aforementioned book sounds very interesting, particularly in light of the forum discussions relating to 'electric universe' theory, EM, Infrasound etc. I have only just found this website, but will add more links/information when I find them.