BEIJING, CHINA – In a groundbreaking development that has captured the attention of the global scientific community, distinguished Chinese researcher Dr. Zhang Wei unveiled evidence suggesting that certain animals possess a remarkable ability to anticipate impending natural disasters. Wei and his team of researchers presented their findings during the annual Asia Pacific Scientific Forum (APSF) in Beijing. Wei also announced the full study will be made public next year once the Chinese government, the report's main sponsor, reviews and vets its implications to potentially get a head start in revolutionizing the country's early warning systems and disaster preparedness strategies.
Wei, a renowned expert in animal behavior and environmental sciences at the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, spearheaded the decade-spanning study focusing on the behavioral patterns of various animal species such as dogs, birds, rats and some marine mammals in Chinese disaster-prone regions. "Through meticulous observation and sophisticated monitoring techniques, we documented compelling evidence of animals exhibiting distinct behavioral changes and heightened sensitivity prior to the occurrence of seismic activities, tsunamis, and other natural calamities," reads a press release published by Wei's team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences website. "The research sheds light on the intricate sensory mechanisms employed by animals, enabling them to perceive subtle environmental cues, such as electromagnetic variations and seismic vibrations, long before the onset of catastrophic events."
During the APSF announcement, Wei made special emphasis on the ability of dogs and birds to serve as natural early warning systems that could provide vital minutes or hours of advance notice crucial for evacuation and mitigation efforts. "We looked at everything from dogs barking aggressively and getting very rowdy before an earthquake to birds making loud sounds and flying in uncharacteristic formations," he said. "This is just the tip of a series of more complex patterns. We will be working with our patrons to create a guide for human use so that these patterns we identified can be well catalogued and understood."
Although the full study has yet to be published and its conclusions scrutinized, international experts who have accessed Wei's work are describing it as a catalyst for reevaluating traditional disaster response protocols and advocating for a more holistic approach to disaster preparedness. "The study is over three thousand pages and hard to grasp in a first read," Stephanie Moore, a biologist at Cambridge University who has worked with Wei told the South China Morning Post. "But overall, Dr. Wei's findings point to a simple and indisputable thesis: animals may be able to sense and predict disasters because they are much more connected to nature and the Earth than we are."
In spite of the acclaim, Wei's work has not been without controversy and criticism. In 2015, several animal rights organizations launched a campaign against the scientist and his team for allegedly hurting animals during trials and conducting genetic engineering experiments on bunnies. At the time, a representative for Wei dismissed the accusations as "another smear tactic from western activists who do not want to see China rise to its full potential and do not have a clue about what scientific breakthroughs entail yet are willing to benefit from them."
The making of a norm-shattering scientist
Dr. Zhang Wei grew up in a small town in the northwest province of Qinghai. It is here where he had a life-altering experience at the tender age of five."I remember I was in the living room. My grandmother was sleeping on the couch and I was looking at our green parakeet, flapping its wings and flying around in the cage. It was crashing against the metal bars, as if trying to hurt itself or knock down the cage. It was like that for about two minutes and then the whole apartment started shaking," Wei wrote in his bestselling memoir Tiger of Science. "The next thing I knew, I was stuck under the ruble. They pulled me out and that's when they told me my grandmother had died. My parents too. The factory where they were working also collapsed. The entire town collapsed."
The tragedy of the earthquake and his memory of the parakeet's "warning" pushed Wei into studying animal behaviors and natural ecosystems. "I felt there was something there. This pet had given me a bad omen and I thought I could prove it." Consequently, Wei enrolled at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and went from student to teacher and researcher. "Without the Academy and my government's support I could not have done this. They put all resources at my disposal and allowed me to pursue this theory I had in my head."
"When I remember the earthquake I still cry," Wei writes in his memoir. "I cry for my grandmother, my parents and my parakeet Li. But now I understand that had to happen for me to have the career I have in science and for me to help others through science. I still owe everything to them. As we say in China: the energy of the old generation inspires the new."
As of today, Wei is one of China's top scientists and also one of the men who led his country's efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and create a vaccine. Prior to the announcement of his monumental study, he was mainly cited and featured on Chinese media for defending his government against claims that it silenced scientists and medics who were raising alarms during the early days of the pandemic. "We did everything we could and we shared all the information we had," Wei told a China Central Television anchor back in February 2022. "Now there are those that want to blame the virus on animal experimentation in the Wuhan laboratory. I know animal experimentation and I have worked in Wuhan and none of this could have happened there. This is enemy propaganda. They tried to do it to me years ago and now they want to do it to our great nation."
This short fiction piece first appeared in Newzaps, a literary experiment that presents stories as articles that invite readers to ponder the nature of reality, fantasy and so-called journalism. To learn more visit newzaps.com
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