Stories of animals acting strangely before earthquakes, tsunamis, or storms have been passed down for generations.
Dogs grow restless, birds flee the area, and frogs stop croaking, sometimes just hours before disaster strikes.
While many of these accounts are anecdotal, scientists have started to explore whether there’s any truth to the idea that animals can detect environmental changes long before humans notice anything wrong.
This article looks at what research has uncovered so far, separating what’s backed by evidence from what remains speculation.
It’s intended for general knowledge only and should not be used in place of official weather or emergency alerts.
Dogs Acting Strange Before Earthquakes
Dogs have been reported to show unusual behaviour hours or even days before earthquakes hit.
Owners describe their pets whimpering, refusing to go inside buildings, or pacing nervously without any obvious reason.
Some scientists believe dogs might detect the subtle vibrations or changes in the earth’s magnetic field that happen before a quake.
In 1975, officials in Haicheng, China, evacuated the city partly because of reports about restless dogs and other animals.
A massive earthquake struck soon after, and thousands of lives were saved.
While this seems like solid proof, other earthquakes have occurred without any advance animal warnings.
Research continues to explore whether dogs possess a reliable early warning system or if humans simply notice unusual behaviour more when disaster strikes nearby.
Elephants Fleeing Tsunami Waves
During the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, witnesses reported elephants breaking their chains and running toward higher ground well before the waves arrived.
Tourists riding elephants on Thai beaches noticed the animals becoming agitated and refusing to stay near the water.
Many elephants trumpeted loudly and moved inland, carrying their riders to safety.
Elephants may detect infrasound, which are low-frequency sound waves that travel through the earth and water long before humans can sense anything wrong.
These sound waves can travel hundreds of kilometres, giving animals advance notice of approaching danger.
While this behaviour seems remarkable, scientists caution that we need more controlled studies to confirm whether elephants truly predict tsunamis or simply react to environmental cues we do not fully understand yet.
Birds Abandoning Nests Early
Birdwatchers have documented instances where entire flocks abandon their nesting sites days before storms, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions.
In 2014, golden-winged warblers left their breeding grounds in Tennessee a full day before a massive tornado outbreak hit the region.
The birds flew hundreds of kilometres away, then returned once the danger passed.
Researchers tracked these birds with tiny devices and discovered they departed right when atmospheric pressure dropped dramatically.
Birds might sense changes in air pressure, wind patterns, or even infrasound that signal approaching severe weather.
However, not all bird species show this behaviour consistently.
Some flocks stay put during disasters, which makes it difficult to rely on birds as a universal early warning system for humans seeking protection.
Snakes Emerging From Hibernation
In China, snake farms have reported unusual behaviour before several major earthquakes.
Snakes that should be hibernating suddenly emerge from their dens, even when temperatures remain freezing cold.
Some snakes have been observed smashing against walls as if trying to escape, behaviour that seems completely out of character.
Chinese seismologists have studied this phenomenon for decades, keeping records of snake behaviour at monitoring stations.
They theorize that snakes might detect changes in groundwater chemistry or gases released from shifting rock layers deep underground.
Critics point out that snakes sometimes emerge early for other reasons, like unseasonably warm days or disturbances to their dens.
Without more data, it remains unclear whether snake behaviour offers a reliable prediction method for earthquakes.
Toads Leaving Breeding Pools
Biologist Rachel Grant was studying toads in Italy when she noticed something odd.
The toads suddenly abandoned their breeding pool days before a major earthquake struck the region in 2009.
This was particularly strange because it happened during peak mating season when toads normally refuse to leave water.
Grant documented that 96 percent of male toads left the area five days before the quake.
She believes the toads may have detected radon gas or charged particles released from rocks under stress deep below the surface.
This case provides some of the best scientific documentation of pre-earthquake animal behaviour.
Still, researchers need to observe similar patterns in other locations and species before drawing firm conclusions about toads as earthquake predictors for human safety.
Cats Hiding Or Acting Nervous
Cat owners frequently report that their pets hide in unusual places or act extremely nervous before earthquakes or severe storms.
Cats may refuse to eat, yowl constantly, or try desperately to escape from buildings.
Some people claim their cats woke them up with persistent meowing just before tremors began.
Like dogs, cats might sense vibrations through their sensitive paw pads or detect changes in static electricity in the air.
Cats also have excellent hearing that picks up frequencies humans cannot perceive at all.
Unfortunately, cats also hide and act nervous for many ordinary reasons, like visiting strangers, loud noises from construction, or simply feeling unwell.
This makes it extremely challenging to distinguish genuine disaster prediction from normal feline behaviour that happens every day.
Fish Swimming Erratically
Japanese fishermen have long traditions of watching for unusual fish behaviour as a sign of coming earthquakes.
Catfish, in particular, are believed to thrash about violently before seismic activity.
Ancient Japanese folklore even depicts a giant catfish causing earthquakes by thrashing underground.
Modern observations have documented fish swimming frantically near the surface, jumping out of water, or gathering in unusual numbers before quakes.
Scientists speculate that fish may detect electrical changes in water or sense pressure waves moving through aquatic environments.
However, fish behaviour varies widely based on temperature, food availability, predators, and water quality.
Separating normal erratic swimming from genuine earthquake prediction remains difficult.
More systematic monitoring would help determine if fish offer any practical warning value.
Zoo Animals Refusing Shelter
Zookeepers have reported curious patterns before natural disasters strike.
Animals that normally seek shelter readily will refuse to go inside their buildings, instead clustering together in open areas.
Before the 2011 earthquake in Washington DC, flamingos at the National Zoo huddled together, and apes climbed to the top of their enclosure.
These observations are particularly interesting because zoo animals live in controlled environments with regular routines.
When multiple species show unusual behaviour simultaneously, it suggests they are responding to something real in their environment.
Skeptics argue that we tend to remember unusual animal behaviour only when disasters actually occur.
When animals act strangely and nothing happens, those instances get forgotten, creating a bias that makes prediction seem more accurate than it truly is.
