Which animals' tails can predict the weather?

Humans regard themselves as the master of all things, and often look at the colorful world with a dominant attitude. The Indian Ocean tsunami +65438 on February 26th, 2004 killed nearly 200,000 people instantly. However, an incredible fact is that this sudden disaster "mercifully" spared the lives of most wild animals. Why can animals have such high-energy skills? Scientists try to explain this.

The response of animals in the tsunami is extremely abnormal.

In Yale in the southeast of Sri Lanka, there is a nature reserve with an area of 1000 square kilometers. When the tsunami struck, the flood went 3 kilometers inland, mercilessly devouring the lives of more than 200 local residents. However, more than 200 Asian elephants living in nature reserves, as well as leopards, bison, wild boar, countless wild deer and monkeys, survived and saved their lives. The local observer of the Wildlife Conservation Organization was surprised to see that our bodies were everywhere in the nature reserve after the flood: "No elephant died, not even a hare was lost in the reserve."

When the tsunami happened, the Associated Press reporter who was interviewing by flight attendant helicopter on a small island in Sri Lanka also observed a similar phenomenon from the air. He said, "Countless bats live in caves on the island. They sleep in caves during the day and come out at night. But on the morning of the tsunami, bats flew out of the cave. "

Countries affected by the tsunami also reported similar things. It is reported in some places that before the tsunami, all local red storks flew out of their nests in low-lying lake areas, and dogs didn't want to go home. All the animals in the zoo jumped out of their nests, and the breeder couldn't save them no matter how scared he was. In one of the worst-hit areas in Thailand, elephants performing programs for tourists even rescued several Japanese tourists. An elephant tamer recalled: "On the morning of the tsunami, I heard the elephants screaming and screaming, which was very strange to me. The elephant disobeyed and turned his head to the direction of the sea. " Next, the elephant broke free from the rope and began to run to the highlands, followed by many people. The elephant tamer said, "I ran towards the mountain. As soon as I turned around, the first wave just jumped onto the shore, swallowed the tourists and overturned the car." I was stunned. "

Events in which animals predict disasters occur frequently.

When humans are still indifferent, animals have already felt the approaching disaster early. Such an example is not new. As early as the 2nd century AD, Elianu, a Greek rhetorician, recorded in his book that five days before the earthquake in Hlik in 373 BC, residents discovered the abnormality of animals: "Rats, minks, snakes, centipedes and their nests, scarabs, all fled the city and walked south along the road." Why animals behave abnormally before the disaster, Elianu was puzzled.

The west is like this, and so is the east. Japan is an island country with frequent earthquakes and volcanoes, and the tradition of observing fish activities and predicting dangers has been circulated among the people. 199 1 In June, a volcano erupted in Japan, and the reporter of paris match Pictorial in Japan began his report with the following sentence: "Once there is a commotion in the fish tank, it is bound to herald disaster. I saw silurus glanis spinning around the aquarium wall like a meteor. Whenever we see this phenomenon, people will understand that the danger is just around the corner ... In Japan, people have long known how to predict earthquakes and volcanic activities by observing the activities in silurus glanis. The more silurus glanis makes trouble in the fish tank, the greater the destructive power of the disaster. "

Animals also behaved abnormally in the war.

In 390 BC, the Romans lost the battle with Gaul and were forced to retreat to the steep top of Capitole. At night, Gaul soldiers secretly climbed up from the cliff without even disturbing the dogs on guard. Suddenly, the white goose raised in the Roman army screamed and woke the sleeping Roman soldiers-thanks to the white goose, the proud Romans saved their capital.

During World War II, a white goose raised by a resident of Frejborg, Germany, clucked like crazy before every allied air raid, warning its owner and calling its neighbors to take refuge in the city. After the war, local residents specially erected a statue for this white goose in the city center to thank it for saving his life.

Scientists believe that animals can feel the tremor of the earth.

There is a theory that some animals, such as elephants, have far more developed and sensitive hearing than we do, so they can hear rough waves before the tsunami strikes. 1984, Katie Payne, a zoologist working in Portland Zoo (Oregon), observed that the air around elephants "will send out some regular tremors". She analyzed the wavelength and frequency of these air tremors through instruments, trying to uncover the reason why elephants can foresee the danger from the outside. To prove her theory, she spent ten years in Kenya and Ethiopia. Her research found that "through the sinuses at the junction of the long nose and the skull, elephants can emit 20 decibels of vibrato." If there is no obstacle, this vibrato can be perceived by another elephant 80 kilometers away. If there is an obstacle in the middle, its transmission range can reach 10 km in Fiona Fang. "Whenever danger comes, elephants will scream, flap their ears, erect their noses and even run for their lives.

Pierre Pfajfer, a French zoologist and elephant expert, has a supplementary explanation for what happened in Yale Nature Reserve. Elephant's ears can hear infrasound that humans can't hear, thus sensing the terrible waves in front of them. In addition, elephants can feel the abnormal pulse of the earth before the earthquake by relying on the foot mound covered with horny things. Elephants are extremely sensitive to every vibration of the earth through the keratin on the soles of their feet. Pierre Pfajfer said: "The elephants living in Yale Nature Reserve not only felt the danger, but also accurately judged where the danger came from and naturally fled to the mountains."

No matter marine life, birds or animals, most of them have the ability to feel the slight vibration changes of the earth, air and water, and the physical and chemical changes of the surrounding environment (such as the changes of the earth's magnetic field). Yvonne Mao Le, head of the French Research Center for Physiology and Ecological Energy, said, "We know that migratory birds, turtles and some migratory fish rely on magnetic fields to navigate for themselves. We can also speculate that basically all animals have their own' positioning system'. Not only that, but there may still be some communication methods between similar species that we don't know at present, and transmit information to each other. "

There are differences between wild animals and domestic animals in their ability to predict disasters.

Scientists often use the "sixth sense" to describe this special skill of animals. In fact, the so-called "sixth sense" is a kind of ability to feel the spectrum, spectrum and spectrum changes, rather than really referring to a special feeling. We humans have the same ability, but it is far less developed than animals. Sometimes, we also use the imprecise word "instinct" to describe it. Scientists have long discovered that even the "instinct" of the same creature will deteriorate due to different living environments.

Yvonne Mao Le said: "We studied dolphins in Japan, compared wild dolphins with dolphins in aquariums, and found that the hearing organs of wild dolphins are ten times more sensitive than those of domesticated dolphins." Similarly, after the Indian Ocean tsunami, although most wild animals escaped the disaster, the bodies of domestic animals were everywhere.

Also living in the tsunami-stricken area, the local indigenous Garowa people, like the Wenge people and wild animals, felt the danger in advance, so there were almost no casualties. Are they saved because they are in a more primitive state of life and feel more sensitive than people living in modern civilization? Or is it easier to observe the abnormal behavior of wild animals than we do? This remains to be further studied by scientists.