Hobbies And Interests
Sense of Hearing
Many animals, both domestic and wild, have developed a keen sense of hearing, allowing them to detect danger far in advance of human acknowledgement. For example, cats and dogs both can hear far more sounds and much softer sounds than humans. Dogs can hear sounds about five more times acutely than humans and cats about two times more acutely than dogs, according to the NSPCA (National Council of SPCAs). For example, a dog can hear a whisper at about three times the distance as a human, and while fireworks to humans are bearable, for many animals the sound is rather deplorable. Such keen sense of hearing allows animals to sense danger long before humans realize something's amiss.
Sense of Smell
The sense of smell derives its power from olfactory cells, which receive scent molecules. Human have approximately five million olfactory cells, while dogs and cats have up to 220 and 100 million, respectively. This means cats can smell up to 20 times better than humans, while dogs can smell up to 50 times better than humans. For example, a scent dog can smell one drop of blood in a bucket of water. This strong sense of smell can help animals sense danger far in advance and it also allows them to smell things humans can't.
Pheromone Detection
Many animals, including cats and dogs, have what's called a vomero-nasal organ that detects pheromones. Pheromones are too large for olfactory epithelial cells to detect, so humans can't smell them, but many animals can and at the same time, these pheromones provides them with detailed information about the environment around them. Pheromones offer almost a blueprint of every animal around them, telling them what mood the animal is in, if the animal is ill or if it's pregnant. This helps an animal sense danger when a human might not realize it lurks.
Magnetic Sense
The flow of molten rock combined with the ions in the air creates a magnetic field around the earth. Although scientists far from understand it, animals have demonstrated an uncanny ability to sense this magnetic field for navigational purposes and to escape danger. For example, a salamander can use this sense to find the nearest shore when in danger in the water, reports the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It's debatable whether or not humans have this sense and have long forgotten how to use it consciously; research is underway to understand to what extent both humans and animals have this sense and can use it. Some scientist suspect animals may use this sense to detect earthquakes and other natural disasters.