Sixth sense? Strange behaviour of birds caught on camera just before Turkey earthquake

There are many theories and investigations that claim abnormal behaviour of dogs and birds can help humans predict strong earthquakes.

Istanbul, Feb 07: Turkey and Syria were on Monday rattled by a series of very powerful earthquakes and aftershocks that resulted in the death of more than 2,300 people while a lot of damage has been caused as many buildings and structures were destroyed.

Videos from different locations have been shared on social media showing the moments when the earthquake struck and the devastation that followed.

One video posted on Twitter allegedly taken before the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey on Monday shows strange behavior of the birds. Within no time netizens commented on the video and presented their observations. Take a look:

However, there have been anecdotal reports of birds, along with other animals, exhibiting unusual behavior prior to earthquakes. Some say even fish shows unusual behaviour prior to seismic activity. Meanwhile, there is limited scientific evidence to support the idea that birds, or any other animals, can consistently and accurately predict earthquakes.

While some studies have suggested that animals can detect changes in atmospheric pressure or other physical changes that occur before an earthquake, this behavior is not consistent or reliable enough to be used as a means of predicting earthquakes.

Can animals predict earthquakes?

According to United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earliest reference we have to unusual animal behavior prior to a significant earthquake is from Greece in 373 BC. Rats, weasels, snakes, and centipedes reportedly left their homes and headed for safety several days before a destructive earthquake.

Anecdotal evidence abounds of animals, fish, birds, reptiles, and insects exhibiting strange behavior anywhere from weeks to seconds before an earthquake. However, consistent and reliable behavior prior to seismic events, and a mechanism explaining how it could work, still eludes us. Most, but not all, scientists pursuing this mystery are in China or Japan.