ABSTRACT
Animals observe and sense their environment all the time. They have to find food and shelter, and they need to be aware of imminent dangers. Therefore, it is no surprise that animals will react to weather and other environmental phenomena to protect themselves.
For any species to persist, individuals must survive to reproductive age, and for many animals there is a need to ensure their offspring reach maturity so that they can survive on their own. Part of a survival strategy may well include altering their behaviour if they sense a detrimental change in their environment, be that a storm, earthquake or volcanic eruption. Although such behaviour change might be risk adverse – do something in case – the observation of such animals may be a good indicator of environmental changes to come.
This is not a new idea, with the likes of Theophrastus writing about this over 2,000 years ago. However, with climate change changing our environment this may be more important than ever. Today people still watch the animals, and even though there is a range of complex technologies which can make forecasts, looking at animal behaviour is both interesting and useful.
