Lately, there has been a spate of strange sea creatures discovered in shallow areas or found dead at beaches in the Philippines, leading people to think that these could signal the possibility of upcoming disaster.
When several oar fish were first found in Mindanao some weeks ago, netizens posted on social media that these could signal earthquakes. Days later, a number of earthquakes hit southern Philippines – the strongest and most devastating of which happened in Surigao on February 10.
More oar fish had been found since then – and several earthquakes had also occurred in other parts of Mindanao, including at the provinces of Davao, in Sarangani, and others.
Then, a large mola fish (ocean sunfish) was caught next. Again, it scared Pinoys who believe this fish also signal a disaster.
But the strangest of all these weird sea creatures came in the form of the ‘globster’ found in Dinagat Islands. The hairy carcass couldn’t be identified by the locals, leading to rumors that this was a deep sea creature known as a globster who only appears before a huge disaster.
See – LOOK: Mysterious Sea Creature with Lots of Hair, Found Dead at Beach in Dinagat Islands
Is the “Big One” earthquake coming? After all, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recently reminded people about it and urged people to stay alert.
See – Phivolcs Warns Luzon Residents to Prepare for the ‘Big One’ Earthquake
Well, first of all, globsters aren’t specific sea animals but are actually unidentified organic mass from a body of water.
Second, scientists maintain that although strange behavior has been noted in various species of animals before a natural disaster such as an earthquake, there is no way to quantify this and conclude that animals can predict something; however, they concede that animals can feel electrical or magnetic vibrations that humans can’t.
Perhaps, these animals can sense small earthquakes which can lead to bigger earthquakes – but that doesn’t happen all the time, of course.
So, is the appearance of these strange creatures a sure signal of a disaster? We surely hope not! After all, there is a huge probability that these are but a coincidence and that their appearance in shallow areas had more to do with human activity (like fishing and polluting the waters!) than as messengers of impending doom.