Filipino Superstition Can Animals and Insects Predict Calamities?

Can Animals Predict Natural Disasters Like Earthquakes and Typhoons?

According to the Roman writer Aelian (On Observing Animals Before the Massive Earthquake that Vanished Helike 11.19): “For five days before Helike disappeared, all the mice and martens and snakes and centipedes and beetles and every other creature of that kind in the city left in a body by the road that leads to Keryneia. And the people of Helike seeing this happening were filled with amazement, but were unable to guess the reason. But after these creatures had departed, an earthquake occurred in the night; the city subsided; an immense wave flooded and Helike disappeared, while ten Spartan vessels which happened to be at anchor were lost together with the city”.

Helike was an ancient Greek city that was submerged by a tsunami in the winter of 373 BC. It was located in Achaea, northern Peloponnesos (As cited from; http://www.helike.org/sources2.html)

Cats Can Sense a Typhoon Coming

Cats can predict typhoons as asserted by the elderlies

That can be linked to the Filipino superstition asserting that animals such as rats, dogs and cats can predict calamities and natural disasters. When I was a child, I can clearly remember my grandmother telling me that “ Kapag kinutkot na ng pusa na yan  ang bubong sigurado nang babagyo” (When the cat starts scratching the roof, there would be a typhoon for sure) and a week later it happens.

During the typhoon, my Grandmother observed the cat keenly.  I heard her telling my mother  “Kapag lumundag na palabas ng bahay ang pusa sumunod ka na kung ayaw mong mabagsakan ng bahay na giba” (Once the cat skipped out of the house you have to follow suit if you don’t want the debris of your broken house to fall on you). Luckily, the cat did nothing.  It slept all night long.

A Scientific Explanation Behind the Phenomenon

There are plenty of articles and researches stating that animals react to certain environmental indicators serving as precursors to disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. As an example, animals like dogs (and ducks too) can sense changes in humidity and temperature. When the air`s humidity and temperature change, dogs will come inside before it rains. Because of their careful observations, our ancestor may say that ducks and dogs can predict that rain is coming.

Looking at the case of that Super Pusa who can predict typhoons, cats can hear sound frequencies up to 70, 000 Hz. Cats can hear better than human. It is not impossible that it can sense vibrations that we, humans, can`t. Those vibrations can frighten or irritate them, prompting them to react and behave in such strange way that our elders perceived as predictors to natural dilemmas. In our Super Pusa`s case, that would be scratching the roof.

Dogs can sense changes in humidity

Ants Can Predict Rainy Days

Another urban legend is that, ants can predict that rainy days is coming. And yes, ants are awesome for that purpose. I had observed ants myself. Before the rainy season begin, ants go out of their nest and  eagerly gather foods as preparation for the rainy days. They also start climbing the walls evacuating to higher places. Once I had seen ants in a hurry, evacuating their entire colony from the ground. I saw them carrying small pale ants and their food to a small hole on our house`s foundation. After 5 hours, it rained, flooding the entire ground where they came from. That made me think that they can detect environmental changes, that we are not able to.

Relationship Between Oarfish Beachings and Earthquakes

On the news, is a series of beaching of Oarfish in Mindanao before and after the 6.7 magnitude earthquake that hits Surigao on February 10, 2017. It occurs as follows;

“A series of beaching of oarfishes along Butuan Bay, Agusan del Norte were reported particularly in Barangay Masao, Butuan City and in the municipality of Nasipit on January 19, the municipalities of Buenavista on February 8, Tubay on February 13, and Carmen on February 15, 2017. Published news associated these events with the magnitude 6.7 earthquake that hit Surigao City on February 10, 2017”

As quoted from “STATEMENT ON THE REPORTED BEACHING OF OARFISH IN SEVERAL COASTAL AREAS IN NORTHEASTERN MINDANAO ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAGNITUDE 6.7 EARTHQUAKE” By the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. (http://www.bfar.da.gov.ph/BFARnews?id=270)

          A Japanese myth explains that the appearance of oarfish signal an earthquake. The beaching of undetermined number of oar fishes from December 2009 to March 2010 preceded the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. It is known in Japanese folklore as “Messenger from the Sea God”s Palace.

It is not impossible that Oarfishes can predict earthquakes. Oarfishes are deep sea fish living near the sea or ocean bottom, at depths of between 200 to 1,000 meters. It enables them to sense tremors on the active faults of the seabed or oceanic crust and other changes therein.

This only proves that some Filipino Superstitions have scientific basis and is a result of careful observations of the surroundings. Though we can`t directly say that animals and insects can predict the weather and disasters. It is still helpful for us to observe their behavior because animals and insects are more tuned into cues from nature such as changes in pressure, temperature, humidity, wind direction, speed and velocity and sounds of the upcoming debacle.