China looks to snakes to predict quakes
POSTED: 11:35 p.m. EST, December 27, 2006
Adjust font size:
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China has come up with an earthquake prediction system which relies on the behavior of snakes, state media said on Thursday, two days after two quakes struck off neighboring Taiwan.

The earthquake bureau in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi autonomous region in southern China, had developed its system using a combination of natural instinct and modern technology, the China Daily newspaper said.

Experts at the bureau monitor snakes at local snake farms via video cameras linked to a broadband Internet connection. The video feed runs 24 hours per day.

"Of all the creatures on Earth, snakes are perhaps the most sensitive to earthquakes," bureau director Jiang Weisong was quoted as saying.

Jiang said snakes, a popular restaurant dish in the south in the winter, could sense an earthquake from 120 km (70 miles) away, three to five days before it happens. They respond by behaving strangely.

"When an earthquake is about to occur, snakes will move out of their nests, even in the cold of winter," Jiang was quoted as saying.

"If the earthquake is a big one, the snakes will even smash into walls while trying to escape."

China is struck by frequent earthquakes, with most hitting remote rural areas.

Two people were killed and 42 injured on Tuesday when three buildings collapsed in earthquakes that shook southern Taiwan.

While a tsunami warning came to nothing, the quake damaged undersea telecommunication cables, affecting users across Asia.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/12/2...reut/index.html

In our country we use cockroaches to detect a major calamity. If the cockroaches have unusual behavior like going out of their nesting place and flying around a room and biting everyone, a calamity is coming like an earthquake or a major volcanic eruption.

^your country must have alot of cockroaches.



neways snake system sounds interesting.

I read this article on BBC a few days back. I remember when the Tsunami hit, many scientists said the animals knew before it came. Very interesting.

Human is an animal too...how come we can't detect sheet?

not all animals are equal with our senses. Some animals have very good hearing and others have very good eyesight.

So what if many animals have better hearing. vision, smell, etc that us? Can they build bridges and skyscrapers and megamalls and weapons of mass distraction? We can use these fu-king animals as our b!tches and make them user their senses for us, we rule them, be proud of who you are my good man!

Actually mouses are excellent in detecting earth quakes. Alot of animals can feel the vibration on the floor, we are like elephants..... we to damn big and dumb to feel vibration.
Mouses are to us what we are to elephants.