Scientists believe they have a plausible explanation for Italian toads' apparent ability to sense the imminent earthquake that struck the city of L'Aquila on 6 April 2009.
At the time, Grant speculated that this unusual behaviour - when the bufo bufo population at the lake should have been busy spawning - may have reflected the toads' instinct to escape to higher ground to avoid croaking it, "possibly where they would be at less risk from rock falls, landslides and flooding".
As to what stimulus caused the exodus, Grant's initial findings suggested that toads "are able to detect pre-seismic cues such as the release of gases and charged particles, and use these as a form of earthquake early warning system".
By chance, Dr Rachel Grant of the UK's Open University was monitoring a toad population at San Ruffino Lake, around 74km from the quake's epicentre. As we previously reported, five days before the 6.3-magnitude shake, "the number of male common toads in the breeding colony fell by 96 per cent", while "most breeding pairs and males fled" three days before the earth moved.
As to what stimulus caused the exodus, Grant's initial findings suggested that toads "are able to detect pre-seismic cues such as the release of gases and charged particles, and use these as a form of earthquake early warning system".
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