Many animals, like fish and snakes, are very sensitive to the vibrations that precede an earthquake.

Now, Chinese scientists have developed a new way of earthquake prediction system which relies on the behavior of snakes, by observing erratic behavior in these reptiles, after Tuesday, two quakes struck off neighboring Taiwan.

Experts at the earthquake office in Nanjing, southern Guangxi province, monitor local snake farms via 24-hour boradband internet video links.

Thus, the system combines natural instinct and modern technology.

"Of all the creatures on Earth, snakes are perhaps the most sensitive to earthquakes," said bureau director Jiang Weisong.

"The reptiles respond by behaving extremely erratically" he said.

Snakes, a popular restaurant dish in the south in the winter, could sense an earthquake from 75 miles (120 km) away, three to five days before it happens.

"When an earthquake is about to occur, snakes will move out of their nests, even in the cold of winter," said Jiang.

"If the earthquake is a big one, the snakes will even smash into walls while trying to escape."

China experiences frequent earthquakes, most of them hitting remote rural areas, thus the damages are reduced.

But in 1976, some 250,000 people died when the city of Tangshan was destroyed by an earthquake.

Two people died and 42 were injured on the Tuesday earthquakes from southern Taiwan, when three buildings collapsed.

The quakes are very harmful for undersea telecommunication cables, affecting users across Asia.

Nanjing is one of the areas most affected by earthquakes in China and one of 12 Chinese cities monitored by hi-tech equipment.

Now, 143 animal monitoring units add to this.

"By installing cameras over the snake nests, we have improved our ability to forecast earthquakes. The system could be extended to other parts of the country to make our earthquake forecasts more precise," Mr Jiang said.