ANIMAL LORE. Everyone, at least in Pennsylvania, has heard at least one lore or legend about animals predicting the weather — cough — Punxsutawney Phil. Although sometimes these legends can seem silly or impractical they are based on the real observation that animals seem to be able to sense more about the environment than we can. For instance:

Before a hurricane, due to changes in barometric pressure, sharks (who rarely leave their home waters) will flee the path of the storm. The low barometric pressure will also cause seagulls and other birds to fly inland, instinctively.

A good rule of thumb to live by is if animals seem to be making a getaway, you probably should too. Reportedly, after the 2005 tsunami in Sri Lanka very few animals were injured despite the massive loss of human lives. It is believed that animals are far more sensitive to vibrations in the Earth than we humans.

Did you know that crickets can actually tell you how hot it is outside? Since crickets are cold-blooded when temperatures in the air change their body temperature must change with it — as temperatures rise, the cricket’s metabolism increases allowing the process that creates the crickets chirp to happen more frequently. Therefore, rapid chirping from crickets is a sure sign temperatures are rising. According to Farmer’s Almanac, you can actually figure out the exact temperature outside based on a cricket’s number of chirps. If you want to try this out for yourself, count the number of chirps in 14 seconds, then add 40 this will give you the exact degree in Fahrenheit.

Did you know a wolf howls before a storm because the change in air pressure affects their ears?