Animals' behavior foretold disaster?

BEIJING — First, the water level in a pond plunged inexplicably. Then, thousands of toads appeared on streets in a nearby province. Finally, hours before China's worst earthquake in three decades, animals at a local zoo began acting strangely.

Chinese online chat rooms and blogs are buzzing with a question: Why didn't these natural signs alert the government that a disaster was imminent?

Several countries, including China, have sought to use changes in nature — mostly animal behavior — as a warning sign. But no reliable way has been found to use animals to predict earthquakes, said Roger Musson, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey.

But that has not stopped a torrent of online discussion. Even the mainstream media has chimed in, with an article in Tuesday's China Daily newspaper questioning why the government did not predict the earthquake.

Online commentators say the first sign came about three weeks ago, when large amounts of water suddenly disappeared from a pond in Enshi city in Hubei province, around 350 miles east of the epicenter, according to media reports.

Then, three days before the earthquake, thousands of toads roamed the streets of Mianzhu, a hard-hit city where at least 2,000 people have been reported killed.

On Monday, the day of the earthquake, zebras were banging their heads against a door at the zoo in Wuhan, more than 600 miles east of the epicenter, according to the Wuhan Evening Paper.

Elephants swung their trunks wildly, almost hitting a staff member. The 20 lions and tigers, normally asleep at midday, were walking around. Five minutes before the quake, dozens of peacocks started screeching.

There are a few possible reasons for such behavior, said Musson, the seismologist. The most likely is that the movement of underground rocks before an earthquake generates an electrical signal that some animals can perceive. Another theory holds that animals can sense weak shocks before an earthquake.