These 3 animals can predict earthquakes: Here’s how 

Earthquakes are one of the worst natural calamities and the most difficult to predict. The damage caused by an earthquake takes years to repair. Scientists worldwide are continuously finding ways to predict earthquakes in order to buy people some time to evacuate. In their quest, scientists have stumbled upon quite an unusual phenomenon for their prediction models. It appears that animals show unusual behaviour before a massive earthquake. How strange is that? However, this is not a recent discovery.  

Back in 373 BC in Greece, rats, weasels, and snakes were observed displaying an unusual behaviour of leaving their homes and heading for safety, days before an earthquake struck. Since then, people are figuring out the mechanisms by which animals can sense an oncoming earthquake. Let us look at some of the animals known to have the power of prediction.  

Ants 
Ants are known as the most hardworking of all animals. They stick to the rules, walk in a straight line, and carry food in a systematic manner. You'd never guess from looking at these tiny creatures that they can detect earthquakes. Ants can predict earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or greater, which humans can barely feel. Their reaction to an impending earthquake and predictive abilities were only identified in 2013. 

What makes these ants detect earthquakes? Researchers believe it is due to their ability to detect changes in carbon dioxide levels and magnetic fields on Earth. It's amazing how these minute insects might save hundreds of lives. More research is being conducted to fully test the ants' capabilities. One of the tests includes moving ants to a more earthquake-prone region and checking if they react similarly to higher-magnitude earthquakes. You can only hope they pass the test! 

Flamingos 
Yes, you read that right. A slight motion or weak gust of wind is enough for flamingos to fly away. Flamingos, as lovely as they are, can predict earthquakes. In the real sense, they are the beauty with brains in the world of birds. An incident on the East coast of the United States in 2011 shed light on this special capability. The flamingos of a zoo suddenly huddled together in a group before a magnitude of 5.8 earthquake struck the coast. While this was going on, people noticed the ducks fleeing into the water. Other similar events include peacocks in a China zoo screeching, all at once, before disaster struck.  

We are aware that birds have acute senses and can detect the first wave of attack. This is why scientists have been unable to fully analyse their prediction method. Even if they could predict earthquakes, they couldn't do so much in advance. They will only notify you minutes before the disaster occurs. In the event of a true disaster, their short notice may not be of much use to humans. 

Toads 
Back in 2009, scientists in Italy were studying toad breeding patterns when all the pairs vanished one day! A few days later, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck a nearby town. If only toads could talk! Scientists were immediately drawn to the toads’ predictive abilities rather than their breeding patterns. They reasoned that the toads must have detected some activity that alerted them to the impending disaster. It could have been anything: A change in atmospheric pressure, charged particles, or a ground disturbance. 

A similar event happened in China, when thousands of toads swamped the streets of one village three days before an earthquake killed 2,000 people there. Researchers are working extensively to decode their instincts and find out a way to help us predict the most difficult to predict natural calamity of the world.