Do animals have a sense of impending weather?

by Kirk Mason (mason@wsbt.com)

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Some say their pets were acting stranger than usual just before the recent earthquake hit the Midwest.

By Tiffany Griffin

Story Created: Apr 21, 2008 at 9:31 AM EST

Story Updated: Jul 23, 2008 at 10:30 AM EST

We've received several e-mails from people claiming right before Friday's earthquake their pet started acting strangely.

Joanne Wilken of Niles says her cat started scratching her ears frantically for a prolonged time.

“When she stopped I felt my bed vibrating," Wilken said.

Wilken wants to know, "Do animals have a sense of impending weather?"

Can your pet predict an earthquake is about to happen?

WSBT’s Kirk Mason talked to Dr. Alan Beck, the director of Purdue's Center for the Human Animal Bond.

The center studies the relationship between animals and people.

Beck argues that people are remembering activities their pets do all the time, or noticing something they wouldn't normally notice. They just happen to notice them at the moment of an earthquake because an earthquake is a memorable moment.

However, Beck does concede animals have great senses so it's possible, for example, a dog could hear an earthquake tremor before a person. But it would likely only be a second or two sooner.

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