We might not be able to measure the intelligence of dogs in the same way as humans, but they have some abilities that we certainly don’t.
Take their supreme sense of smell, for example, which can not only help them sniff out the best dog food but also allow them to detect medical conditions, sometimes even saving lives, like these dogs training to detect bowel cancer. But could dogs be able to detect natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions? That’s what scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour in Konstanz, Germany are trying to find out.
The researchers, led by project director Martin Wikelski, have enrolled thousands of animals into a program that involves small transmitters being fitted to mammals, birds, and insects to track their movements from a satellite in space.
The study will look at both their reactions to imminent natural disasters, the spread of diseases among breeds, and the impact of climate change and migration patterns. A previous study focusing on the slopes of Sicily’s Mount Etna, an active volcano, found that goats – who are taking part in this study, too – became nervous before an eruption and would refuse to move to higher pastures.
“They know beforehand what is coming. We don’t know how they do it, but they do,” Wikelski told The Guardian. “Ultimately, we hope to launch a fleet of around six satellites and establish a global observation network that will not only provide details of wildlife movements and animal health across the planet but reveal how creatures respond to natural phenomena like earthquakes.”
We don’t yet know why animals behave the way they do when it comes to these sorts of natural disasters, but Wikelski suggested it could be because of the movement of tectonic plates throwing “ions from the rocks into the air.”
The tagging technology used in the study could help us understand why some animals travel thousands of miles each year, like those who migrate between Europe and Africa, as well as work out how animals respond to habitat changes caused by global warming.
The International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space (the ICARUS Initiative), which Wikelski heads, was set to launch several years ago but stopped working with its Russian equivalent on the International Space Station due to the invasion of Ukraine. So, the team has built a new small satellite which is set to launch next year.
While your pup at home might not be involved in the project, what else are they capable of? Take a look at these ways to spot if your dog’s smarter than you think. Meanwhile, we investigated whether cats smarter than dogs?
