The belief that animals can sense an earthquake before it occurs has been held since ancient times. Countries such as China and Japan, which suffer frequently from the devastation brought about by seismic disturbances, have a long history of attempting to

The reading and the lecture are both about the animal's prior knowledge of catastrophe. The author of the reading feels that animal's unusual behavior provides us with evidence that earthquake is impending. The lecturer challenges the claim made by the author. he is of the opinion that this whole concept is based on vague evidence as it is not scientifically proven. To begin with, the author argues that animals have superior listening capability which gives them knowledge the ultrasound engendering from rocks collision. The article mentions that the dogs barking incessantly to wild animals roaming here and there is the evidence of animal sensing the earthquake. this specific argument, is challenged by the lecturer. he claims such animal responses are anecdotal and are often reported after the event. Additionally, he says that people are quick to report the animals usual behaviour as unusual after the event had occurred, however if the event does not happen they ignore the behaviour. Secondly, the writer suggest not only terrestrial animals report such deviation but also the aquatic animals and reptiles. In the article, it is said that catfish responds to abnormal behaviour by jumping out of the water and snakes moving out from their nests. The lecturer, however, rebut this by mentioning that such stories are fanciful. he elaborates on this by bringing up the point that the research conducted in California showed no connection to the reports of dogs missing to earthquake. Finally, the author posits that evacuation of Haicheng is the compelling utilisation animal's prior sense of natural disaster. Moreover, in the article it is stated that animals were able to identify this few days before the event, thus saving lives of thousands of people. In contrast, the lecturer position is that no animal were involved in the prior reporting of the event. he notes that premature evacuation was made possible due to the foreshocks, which were the real source of identification of an imminent earthquake.