Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-07-04
An animal farm set up as a monitoring point for signs of earthquakes in Hainan province, July 28, 2006. (Photo/CFP) |
The Chinese
city of Nanjing began observing animals as a way to monitor earthquakes and is
planning to expand the program this year, according to Chinese news site The
Paper.
Nanjing set
up seven observation points last year, mostly for animal farms, and will add
another seven this year, including one at Hongshan Forest Zoo, the website
said.
The zoo's
director Shen Zhijun said he first thought about the earthquake monitoring
program in 2010 after visiting zoos in Guangzhou and Shenzhen that had already
adopted the program, but he did not proceed with the idea at that time.
The
monitoring program relies on zookeepers' observations of the animals in their
care, and their reporting of any unusual behavior, he said.
The animals
used in the programs are mainly those that are sensitive to low sound waves
generated during earthquakes, such as birds, the zoo director said.
Shen said
the observation will be limited to animals that are not on display, since those
on display may show unusual behavior in the presence of visitors.
Another
location that has become a monitoring point is the Banqiao ecological park,
which is 40 minutes away from the city center and has over 200 pigs, more than
2,000 chickens and a 14.6-hectare fish pond.
Zhou
Hongbing, an animal observer at the park, said he participated in a training
course at the city's seismological bureau, which explained animal behavior in
relation to earthquakes.
The bureau
will send experts to the site where unusual animal behavior is reported, to
determine whether it can be interpreted as a sign of an impending earthquake.
Jiangsu
province, where Nanjing is located, already has hundreds of locations
monitoring animal behavior for signs of earthquakes, The Paper said.
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