People have long been aware of the disasters caused by natural phenomena. The Kyrgyz learned about the approach of an earthquake from the unusual behavior of domestic and wild animals. In the epic "Er Teshstuk," the famous tulpar Chalkuyruk speaks to his master in human language about the impending earthquake:
If you do not listen to me, Toshstuk!
You will know much sorrow, Toshstuk!
You will die before your time, Toshstuk!
Do you know what I know, Toshstuk!
Do you feel what I feel,
Toshstuk!
Do you hear what I hear,
Toshstuk!
Do you see what I see, Toshstuk!
The Dungans, migrants from China, noted in 1877 that the local population—the Kyrgyz—were well aware of animal behavior. By observing them, especially horses, yaks, snakes, and mice, one could know about the approach of natural disasters. Elderly Kyrgyz, with their vast life experience, can sense the impending arrival of powerful mudflows, droughts, severe frosts, and earthquakes in advance.
The observations of our ancestors regarding animal behavior before natural disasters and the correctness of the conclusions drawn from them are confirmed by modern data. For instance, in Sary-Kamysh before the catastrophic earthquake of 1970, dogs howled, animals ran around the yard, frightened stallions neighed anxiously and looked towards where the earthquake's epicenter later turned out to be. Small animals such as snakes, lizards, and mice left their burrows and crawled to the surface.
Birds also abandoned their nests. According to eyewitness accounts, the ground on the surface near the epicenter of the earthquake slightly "swelled."
In the south of the republic, in Alai, in 1978, one and a half months before the onset of a strong earthquake, despite the cold weather, snakes and lizards emerged from their burrows. Marmots appeared on the surface of the snow 3 to 7 days before the disaster. Anomalous behavior was also observed in the behavior of magpies, pigeons, and chickens. Semi-wild Pamir-Alai yaks descended from heights (3700-4000 m above sea level) to the plain 2-3 hours before the earthquake began.
In Tyup, 3-5 days before the earthquake in 1978, fish were not caught on hooks or in nets. Chickens did not roost and clucked loudly. Earthworms crawled onto potatoes stored in cellars. Marmots and field mice left their burrows two days before the strong underground shock.
The territory of Kyrgyzstan is classified as a seismically dangerous zone, so endemic animals, which have long and constantly faced the danger of earthquakes, have developed a special "predictive" behavior before a catastrophe during their own evolution.
Earthquakes have brought and continue to bring great misfortunes. Therefore, in the course of their observations and conclusions, people have tried to learn to predict the impending disaster.
The heightened sensitivity of birds and animals long before the onset of an earthquake is explained by some scientists as an increase in the Earth's electric field, both horizontal and vertical. The increasing potential of the electric field on the ground before the onset of an earthquake causes current to flow through the bodies of animals and birds. Snakes, lizards, mice, and frogs sense the horizontal potential difference of the electric field, while birds detect changes in the field vertically. Large cattle, horses, and camels are very sensitive to changes in the strength of the electric field both horizontally and vertically.
At present, science cannot yet determine the exact moment an earthquake begins, but it can indicate where it will occur and what its strength will be.
Thus, the imperfection of ancient concepts about the structure of the Earth is relative. Fantastic images were the first form of generalization and systematization of knowledge about real processes and connections observed in nature.
Many observations, accurately reflecting reality, helped people navigate the world around them and, in particular, predict the onset of such a formidable natural disaster as an earthquake. But nowadays, people, having trusted science, have lost their natural instinct for self-preservation. This is evidenced by the recent tragedies in Armenia and Tajikistan. Now, eyewitnesses recall that long before the earthquake, mice and rats began to leave their burrows, and on the night of December 6 to 7, 1988, there were already hundreds of thousands of them rushing to leave Spitak; in some houses during winter, to the surprise of the owners, many large black flies appeared; flocks of sheep grazing near Spitak did not graze the grass a day before the earthquake. Shepherds reported that even in autumn, the sheep did not want to graze in the area where the earthquake's epicenter later turned out to be.
Residents of Leninakan testified that most dogs and cats showed anxiety 1.5 to 2 hours before the first strong tremor. Some eyewitnesses noticed unusual behavior in pigeons, sparrows, and other birds an hour to an hour and a half before the earthquake. Similar information was received from other places close to the epicenter. This once again confirmed that one should never neglect folk wisdom and the life observations of ordinary people, and the most serious attention should be paid to the promotion of biological methods for detecting precursors of earthquakes in seismically hazardous regions.