For years there have been stories of animals, particularly dogs, seeming agitated just before an earthquake. They may bark or howl for no apparent reason, or show other signs of fear. So far, no one is really sure how they know that something is about to happen, but it is possible that they feel some slight, preliminary tremors which are undetectable to humans.

Oddly, cats do not seem to have this same foreknowledge. They show fear only when the shaking starts and either rush out of the building or crouch, seemingly paralysed by fear, until it is over. If the tremor is very slight, they may only raise their heads momentarily, then go back to sleep at once.

Just before a minor tremor shook Trinidad recently, one pet parrot was noticeably agitated. After the tremor passed the parrot continued squawking even after his cage was covered. This left the owner with the uncomfortable feeling that the parrot was anticipating another ‘quake. Fortunately, the parrot was wrong.

Animals sometimes seem to anticipate other natural disasters too.

None of the animals living in a wildlife park in southern Sri Lanka seem to have been killed by the Tsunami of December 2006. Unlike the humans in the area they sensed that something was about to happen and moved well inland before the tsunami hit that part of the coast.