Study says animals may detect earthquakes before they happen.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Frank Cimatu

BAGUIO CITY-Anxious about when the next earthquake and the resulting tsunami may hit you? Maybe it's time to get out of your couch and off your TV set and observe closely your dogs, chickens and even the pesky cockroaches.

Reports in Sri Lanka, where more than 22,000 people died from the earthquake-triggered tsunami last week, said wildlife officials noticed that only a few animals died from the disaster.

Reports also said that in the Yala Wildlife Preserve in southeast Sri Lanka where the tsunami hit, scientists noticed no dead wild animals among the debris.

This brought up old stories that animals can sense impending earthquakes.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) actually made a scientific report to investigate this phenomenon right after the July 1990 earthquake hit Baguio and other parts of Northern and Central Luzon.