Animal behavior

The Japanese believe that oarfish are harbingers of forthcoming natural disasters and call them "An envoy from the palace of dragon's king." This fish usually lives in the deep ocean waters. However, before major earthquakes, they may come to the surface. It is thought that oarfish detect changes in the composition of seawater that occur before major earthquakes. Before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, a few oarfish were caught off the Japanese coast.

Some animals can sense approaching earthquakes and behave unusually, potentially serving as signals of an impending earthquake. Dogs, frogs, snakes, horses and other animals are sensitive to gas emissions, vibrations, and other phenomena that may occur days, hours, or seconds before the major tremor. People who live in seismically prone regions need to pay attention to the unusual behavior of animals nearby.