Are animals capable of foreseeing death?

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In July 2007, a captivating report in the New England Journal of Medicine highlighted a cat that could seemingly "foretell" the deaths of nursing home residents hours in advance. Oscar, a feline adopted by the staff at Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, R.I., accurately predicted the passing of at least 25 patients by sitting beside their beds shortly before their deaths. Once the staff recognized Oscar's unique ability, they began notifying families whenever the cat stationed himself near a patient. Most families accepted or even appreciated his presence, though Oscar would become distressed if removed from the room of a dying patient, meowing persistently outside the door.

Oscar's behavior seems intentional. He frequently roams the unit for patients suffering from severe dementia. After observing and sniffing a patient, he settles beside her. Oscar purrs while staying close and typically departs shortly after the patient passes away.

What enables Oscar to do this? Is it a "sixth sense," a distinct odor he detects, or something entirely different? Experts in animal behavior have proposed several theories, with many suggesting it relates to a specific scent emitted by those nearing death. Dying individuals release certain chemicals undetectable to humans but noticeable to Oscar's keen sense of smell. A feline specialist noted that cats can detect illness in both humans and animals [Source: BBC News]. Jacqueline Pritchard, a British animal behaviorist, told BBC News that she believes Oscar senses the shutdown of vital organs [Source: BBC News].

Regarding his habit of staying near patients, Oscar might be imitating the staff who attend to those in their final hours. Another theory is that Oscar is drawn to the warmth of heated blankets often used for dying patients [Source: NPR].

Accounts of animals with extraordinary abilities are not uncommon. For years, there have been stories of dogs identifying various cancers through their sense of smell. Research has confirmed that dogs can detect bladder cancer by smelling urine. Some individuals with severe epilepsy rely on specially trained dogs from charities, which alert them to oncoming seizures through actions like licking. One woman shared that her dog provides a 40-minute warning, allowing her to reach a safe place before a seizure occurs [Source: BBC News].

These seizure-alert dogs are trained to detect subtle scents and physical changes in their owners, such as dilated pupils. Their training, lasting at least a year, prepares them to warn their owners effectively. While dogs assisting the blind or locating injured individuals are well-known, Oscar's case is more enigmatic. Unlike dogs or elephants, cats are not typically linked to altruistic or empathetic behavior. Scientists theorize that dogs' ability to sense illness stems from their evolutionary roots as wolves, who needed to identify when a pack member was unwell or injured.

We've uncovered logical reasons for Oscar's actions and those of seizure-detecting dogs—subtle odors, enlarged pupils, and learned behaviors—but what about other peculiar animal behaviors? Can certain animals truly sense earthquakes or experience empathy? On the following page, we'll explore the fascinating field of ethology.

Ethology and Strange Animal Behavior

Ethology, rooted in zoology, is the scientific study of animal behavior. Ethologists investigate the evolutionary roots and development of innate behaviors, such as a spider instinctively spinning a web without parental guidance. They also examine forms of communication (physical, chemical, visual) and social dynamics among animals. Human ethology explores the evolutionary origins of human behavior and compares cultural behaviors. Other animal behavior studies, grounded in psychology, focus on learned behaviors, teaching animals new skills, and applying these findings to humans.

A frequent question in ethology is whether animals possess unique sensing abilities. For millennia, tales have circulated about animals predicting earthquakes. Before the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of southern Asia, many animals displayed unusual behavior or fled to higher ground. Reports suggest that rescue teams found surprisingly few animal casualties, though some areas did reveal numerous dead animals, especially livestock.

Is this another instance of a unique "sixth sense" or paranormal ability? Some researchers argue that advanced hearing and the capacity to detect minute vibrations enable animals to sense earthquakes. Others propose that animals perceive changes in the air or electromagnetic fields. In reality, it’s likely not a mystical sense but rather one or two highly developed senses—such as hearing or smell—that allow animals to detect seismic activity or gases released during an earthquake. Alan Rabinowitz of the Wildlife Conservation Society suggests that humans once possessed this ability but lost it through evolution [Source: National Geographic]. (CBS' "60 Minutes" featured an extraordinary story about the Moken people, who used their deep connection to the ocean to sense the tsunami before it struck.)

Scientists struggle to pinpoint the exact reason animals flee or panic before an earthquake. While many such accounts exist, there’s no reliable method to test these claims. Animals react to various stimuli, some of which are hard to identify. Critics argue that people only recall their pets behaving oddly because an earthquake occurred, noting that pets often act strangely without any subsequent disaster. Despite this, the theory of animals sensing earthquakes has gained enough traction that researchers worldwide have attempted to study it, with varying outcomes.

Some animals not only possess heightened senses but also experience complex emotions. Frans B.M. de Waal, a renowned primatologist at Emory University, states that many animals—beyond just cats and dogs, including even rats—exhibit empathy and other emotions [Source: Scientific American]. In one experiment, mice injected with a chemical causing mild stomach pain stretched more when placed near other injected mice compared to non-injected ones. Male mice also showed less reaction around unfamiliar males. This suggests that mice not only respond to others' pain but also consider their relationship with the other mouse. University of Chicago neurobiologist Peggy Mason described this as "a significant step toward human-like social emotions" [Source: Scientific American].