The recent earthquake that occurred in New Jersey caused quite a stir. People that felt the tremors will always remember where they were and what they were doing when the quake occurred.

There were many reports from people saying that before the quake occurred their dogs and cats acted strangely. It has long been believed that animals have a super sense that enables them to predict such things as storms, earthquakes or other strange events.

On August 23, 2011, I was on a ladder painting the side of our house when Mary Alice came running out to tell me that she had just been sitting on the love seat in the living room, and it moved once and then again. She excitedly asked whether I had felt anything and what I thought had happened. Since we have constant truck traffic from the gas industry traveling through town, I told her that it was probably one of the big trucks going by.

I continued painting and about ten minutes later, Mary Alice came out again, however this time, it was to tell me that what she had felt was an earthquake.

For the next two days, most of the news was about the earthquake. The earthquake’s epicenter was near Richmond, Virginia, with tremors felt along the east coast as far north as Canada. The top of the Washington Monument cracked, and a few buildings in the DC area had minor damage. The news also reported that the animals at the Smithsonian National Zoo, especially the lemurs, began acting peculiar long before the earthquake had been felt by humans.

We have known that birds and animals are able to predict storms long before they occur due to their change in routines. In our area, when deer are seen feeding in the early afternoon, especially during the winter months, we know that bad weather is on the way since this is a change in the deer’s routine.

Some pets do not like thunder and lightning storms and will begin doing strange things, such crawling under furniture or going down to a basement. Dogs will often begin howling.

These animals can not only feel but also hear a storm approaching even though it could be hours away.

Through the years, it has been believed by many that animals have a keen sense for earthquakes, storms and impending disasters and can predict their arrival.

In 373 BC, historians revealed that animals, such as rats, snakes and weasels, abandoned the Greek city of Helice in large groups for two to three days prior to a devastating earthquake.

Humans, as well as many animals, traditionally have been recognized as having five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. But many animals also have a sixth sense. For example, some birds in general have magnetic sensing materials in their bodies.

The homing pigeons have magnetic crystals located in their skulls; monarch butterflies have magnetic crystals located in their wings; dolphins, porpoises and bats have what is called echolocation; spiders have an organ known as a slit sensilla, which allows spiders to easily judge the size, weight and type of creature caught in their webs; sharks pick up electric charges that are emitted when a fish contracts its muscles; salmon pick up the Earth’s magnetic field and can tell the difference of their home stream and last but not least the pit vipers that hunt with a heat-sensing organ.

Do you remember the stories about the cat named Oscar that lived in a nursing home? Oscar, who visited the patients that were about to die, made 25 of these visits.

There was also a cat called tee-cee that made the same predictions at a nursing home in Providence, Rhode Island. We have all heard about dogs diagnosing people with cancer and detecting when their owners were about to have an epileptic seizure.

All animals have keen senses that are an aid in avoiding predators and locating food. It is thought perhaps that these senses also help in detecting pending disasters. Although there has been no conclusive evidence, there are two theories on how animals are able to detect earthquakes.

One is that animals sense the earth’s vibrations, and the second is that they can detect changes in the air or gases released by the earth.

The United States Geological Survey officially states, “changes in animal behavior cannot be used to predict earthquakes.”

Even though there have been documented cases of unusual animal behavior prior to earthquakes, a reproducible connection between a specific behavior and the occurrence of an earthquake has not been made.

Japan is an earthquake-prone country, and in the past, much devastation has taken a great toll in human and property losses. On March 10, 2011, an 8.9 earthquake hit Japan (the largest ever), causing a tsunami to hit the coast. Several atomic reactors were damaged, and the death toll rose to over 18,000 people. Scientists in Japan and China have been trying to discover a method of predicting earthquakes. They have been doing intense studies on animal behavior prior to earthquakes and tsunamis.

The next question is what effect the eclipse will have on the birds and animals. Was there a change in their normal activity? The news has already reported that the animals at the Smithsonian National Zoo, especially the lemurs, began acting peculiarly long before the eclipse occurred.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.