The Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 claimed more than 24,000 lives along the Sri Lankan Coast, with thousands of homes destroyed in one of the world’s worst Natural disasters. Reduced shorelines, ravaged villages and lives alike were some of the consequences of such an act of God, leaving more than a hundred thousand dead and almost an equal number homeless in all the affected countries. One such area to be destroyed by the tsunami was an animal reserve in Yala (Sri Lanka).
130 Species of birds, plus Monkeys, Leopards, Buffalo and Elephants, and not a single carcass found after the killer waves receded.
"No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit. I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening," H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka's Wildlife Department.
Similar reports came in from more countries hit by the tsunami and pretty soon, animal experts became more than intrigued by the sheer number of such reports.
Call it a Sixth Sense, animal instinct or just plain Luck (read: coincidence), the scientific community, if not always in agreement with each other, definitely accepts the 6th Sense concept, enough to warrant research in a species that has shown remarkable evidence of this “extra” sense. The sad part is, natural disasters are the usual way of humans waking up to it.
It is not just in the recent past that the world sat up and looked at animals beyond their ability to live on dirt and eat leaves. For those not inclined to Literature, a lot of William Shakespeare plays mention omens, mostly with animal imagery and behaviour associated. In Julius Caesar, owls were seen flying at mid-day and a lioness gave birth on the road. The Romans took these odd behaviour patterns as signs of impending doom, but not much is known about the outcome of such “predictions”. For them, a natural disaster was just as huge as an emperor being overthrown.
     Today, any unusual animal activity is reason enough to suspect something big. A large group of Elephants in Indonesia were seen leaving their territory for higher ground long before the Asian Tsunami struck. Strange behaviour by animals in 1975 in the Chinese city of Haicheng, led officials to evacuate the city, which saved thousands of lives when a large earthquake struck a few days later. Even though the latter example raises many questions, mainly from the ‘puritans’, i.e. those who prefer to do it with the paper and pencil (and the Seismograph), it is still a very widely held theory, more so among the residents of that city.
The few researchers, who perhaps believe in the theory, say that it’s not really a supernatural phenomenon that people should feel in awe of. For example, elephants can locate their herd by the seismic waves made by the latter’s walk. It is believed that this ability to detect waves leads them to escape areas where the Earth’s seismic activity increases. Scorpions are also particularly sensitive to ground vibrations, and studies have shown that they too can detect seismic activity through tiny sensory hairs on their claws. Muscle movement and the heartbeat in animals produce small electric fields. Sharks evolved receptors around their heads to detect these fields, and home in on their prey. Spiders are extremely sensitive to vibrations (they can detect them on water surfaces), and they can detect changes in the air pressure, which aids in prey capture.

So why is it so hard to accept the Sixth Sense as real? Perhaps because the implications of it would be tremendous. A foolproof way of predicting natural disasters? Group that up with the Huge-Well-of-Fossil-Fuel that never runs out and you’re good to go. For obvious reasons, scientists and governments will be clamouring to get their hands on any such method.
Or maybe, it’s not so “Physical” after all. Ever heard the phrase, in-tune with nature? One source of any extra senses in animals could be the fact that they actually live in Nature. This may sound very far-fetched and more along spiritual lines, but the fact remains that any creature (including humans) when placed in a certain environment, will learn to adapt itself to it. In due course of time, the creature can exhibit alternate behaviours under any aberrant external stimuli. Territorial animals can almost always tell if a prey is approaching and vice versa. Herds will always know the direction of the next feeding location. In short animals know the lie of the land, and they’re supposedly in more direct contact with the natural environment. A sailor can sense wind direction better than any “land-lubber” (to quote a very likeable character from Tintin).
        The United States Geological Survey conducted a number of studies on animal prediction in the 1970’s. However, they were unable to come up with anything concrete. Recently, though, University of Melbourne researcher, Mr. Blair Patullo, conducted a study on the Australian Yabby (a scorpion like creature). “All animals make small electrical signals when they swim. To detect them is a powerful ability because it enables animals to ‘hear’ predators and prey, before they are seen or even smelt.”
Mr. Patullo concluded that listening to electrical signals could help the Yabby detect a nearby tadpole for a meal; detect a predatory fish for a fast getaway; and detect a fellow Yabby for companionship.
In 1974, the Chinese were able to observe odd animal behavior - snakes prematurely coming out of hibernation, rats suddenly appearing etc - to accurately predict the Haicheng earthquake of 1975.
So looking at it from a purely selfish motive, the ability to detect unusual environmental activity, is and will be a hotly debated, but nonetheless, extensively researched (and used) method of predicting natural disasters. What perhaps sets it apart is the fact that we become inter-dependant on a species we’d long forgotten about.