Thousands of horsebean-size toads strolled along a road Monday morning in Nanjing's resort community of Taowu and caused residents to fear an earthquake was imminent, the Yangtze Evening Post reported.

Thousands of horsebean-size toads strolled along a road Monday morning in Nanjing's resort community of Taowu. [Sina.com]

A man surnamed Zhao, who has lived in the community nearly all his life, said he had never seen anything like it. The toads, estimated at ten thousand, occupied over 200-meters of road.

"People had nowhere to plant their feet. Eventually someone took a broom and swept a path," a resort staff member reported.

Despite the fears, experts said there's no cause for concern. According to them, it's common for these toads to lay eggs in March or April. The suitable temperature and humidity boosts their survival rate. They're migrating from the pond to the woods, and it has nothing to do with a natural disaster, the experts added.

Yet the residents' fears were not completely unfounded. Deputy Director General of Jiangsu Earthquake Administration Zhang Zhenya confirmed that watching animals' behavior is one of monitoring methods used for earthquake forecast, and it's true that animals behave abnormally before strong earthquakes, so observing animals can help analyze earthquakes in a more scientific and comprehensive way. But Zhang also emphasized that abnormal behaviors are not always a sign of a quake.