We live in a seismic country, where it's normal to feel small to medium tremors. We even think an earthquake is coming when we hear our furry friends howl. But, why is this? Do they feel tremors or earthquakes before us?
In this #PetTuesday, we will talk about the great characteristics that furry friends have in emergency or urgent situations.
How do earthquakes happen and why do furry friends feel them before humans?
Prior to seismic movements, our planet's tectonic plates collide and generate a rupture in their rocky crust, in addition to releasing a large amount of energy through what are called seismic waves, which are ultimately what make us feel an earthquake.
These actions have the properties of sound, as they propagate throughout the surface and this allows animals to be alert to what is happening. Their acute sense of hearing allows them to pick up sounds imperceptible to humans, to which they react before it shakes.
The same does not happen in us, since our low level of hearing does not allow us to perceive these signals and makes us vulnerable to catastrophic events.
How do they react?
An hour before an earthquake occurs, furry friends will become restless, nervous and bark inconsolably, howling similarly to when their owners leave and they are left alone.
Beware! If they find an escape route where they are, they will escape without thinking twice.
Do only dogs feel earthquakes, or do other furry friends too?
No. Also cats, birds, fish, including sharks, and many other animals. Primary waves are generally very subtle, so the hearing of furry friends will feel them, as will seismographs.
Anecdotes:
In the 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy, frogs fled their ponds a few days before this great earthquake, which caused strangeness among scientists. After learning the reason, they began to investigate much more about these small animals.
In the earthquake of February 4, 1975, in China, scientists perceived atypical behaviors of several animals since December 1974. Snakes came out of hibernation suddenly and froze on the surface of the earth because it was not yet time to come out. Also, 4 days before the earthquake, some people commented that their furry friends (cows, horses, pigs, and dogs) had very strange and unusual behaviors.
Watch out! This does not mean that every time a dog or cat acts strangely, it is alerting about a possible tremor.
Dogs also stand out for other abilities with their hearing and smell, so they support rescuers very efficiently in emergencies such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, etc.
Have you noticed your furry friend acting strange before an earthquake? What is their reaction?
Tell us 👀