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S24 Ep3

Can Animals Predict Disaster?

Premiere: 11/12/2005

In interviews with scientists and eyewitnesses, NATURE probes the evidence that some animals may have senses that allow them to predict impending natural disasters long before we can.

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An elephant trumpets wildly, breaks a chain holding it to a tree, and flees to higher ground — just before a massive tsunami crashes ashore, drowning hundreds of thousands of people.

Did the elephant know the deadly wave was coming?

That’s the question explored by NATURE’s Can Animals Predict Disaster?

In interviews with scientists and eyewitnesses, NATURE probes the evidence that some animals may have senses that allow them to predict impending natural disasters long before we can.

Some creatures, for instance, may be able to “hear” infrasound, — sounds produced by natural phenomena, including earthquakes, volcanoes, and storms, that are inaudible to the human ear. This ability may give elephants and other animals enough time to react and flee to safety.

Another explanation may lie in animals’ sensitivities to electromagnetic field variations. Quantum geophysicist Motoji Ikeya has found that certain animals react to changes in electrical currents. He now regularly monitors a catfish, the most sensitive of the creatures he has tested, to aid him in warning others of coming disaster.

Follow NATURE as it reexamines ancient ideas about how animals can predict disaster which are now gaining credence in scientific circles.

Production Credits

Television Credits

Narrated by
PAUL CHRISTIE

Written and Produced by
JEFF SWIMMER

Director of Photography
BOB POOLE

Edited by
MAX SALOMON

Original Music
CHRISTOPHER RIFE

Production Manager
SHELLEY GALE

Associate Producer
ALEXIS SIGGERS

Additional Cinematography
RICHARD NEIL
HOWARD SHACK
JEFF SWIMMER
RIC HINE

Location Sound Recordists
DAVE RUDDICK
ROBIN HARRIS
JEFF TAYLOR

Production Coordinator
ERIN BROWNE

Stock Footage Research
DANIEL REUTNICK

Science Research
MOHI KUMAR

Graphics
SKARAMOOSH

Stock Footage
BBC MOTION GALLERY
ITN
APTN
GEOFF MACKLAY
KRON
WGBH RESOURCE CENTER
TIM RODWELL
NASA
JIM EDDS
BAHATI PRODUCTIONS
WGBH MEDIA LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES
NHK (JAPAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

Translation Voiceover
JOHN ROQUE

Audio Mix
ED CAMPBELL

Sound Design
HEART PUNCH STUDIO

Assistant Editing
STUDIO B
STEFANIE COOKE

On-Line Editor
NGOZI AKBAR
DAVE NOLING

Colorist
RON STETLER

Special Thanks
JOSHUA ABARBANEL
DRUMBEAT SAFARIS

Executive Producer
BETH HOPPE

For NATURE

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Supervising Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Producers
JILL CLARKE
PATTY JACOBSON

Associate Producers
IRENE TEJARATCHI
GIANNA SAVOIE

Production Secretary
RACHAEL TEEL

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Audio Engineer
BRIAN BEATRICE

On-line Editor
BRUNO PELLEGRINI

Series Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive In Charge
WILLIAM GRANT

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

A Production of Optomen Productions, Inc. and Thirteen/WNET New York.

This program was produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, which is solely responsible for its content.

Web Credits

Producer
DANIEL B. GREENBERG

Designer
MICHAEL DIMAURO

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Writer
DAVID MALAKOFF

Technical Director
BRIAN PATRICK LEE

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Tamara E. Robinson, Vice President & Director, Programming

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