Toads Interrupt Breeding Patterns Before Quakes
Toads suddenly stop their breeding migrations before earthquakes. Researchers in Italy documented toads abandoning their spawning sites five days before the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. Their unusual sensitivity to magnetic fields or water chemistry changes might explain this preventive behavior. Local residents who had witnessed the annual toad migration for generations noticed the strange interruption. Scientists now monitor some toad populations as potential biological earthquake indicators.