Who needs machines to measure the activity going on underground when you've got snakes to do the monitoring for you? That's right. Scientists in China rely instead on snakes and their behaviour to predict if there's an earthquake coming.

Over at the Nanning earthquake bureau in southern Guangxi province, experts keep a close watch on their local snake farms through 24-hour internet video links. Why did they choose the snakes? Well, for one, "Of all the creatures on the Earth, snakes are perhaps the most sensitive to earthquakes," explains Jiang Weisong, director of the bureau.

They are so sensitive to it that they can sense a quake from as far as 120km (75 miles) away, and up to five days before it happens. Now, that's really preemptive. Apparently, the snakes act erratically when they feel one coming. In response to the vibrations they feel, the snakes then smash their heads into walls into an effort to escape.

Hmmm...well we do hope those snakes have insurance for hemorrhages.