Do animals sense Yellowstone blast?

Lava below ... Morning Glory hot springs at Yellowstone National Park, which sits atop supervolcano the Yellowstone Caldera. Source: Supplied

DO they know something we don't? Reports of animals fleeing Yellowstone has sparked concerns that park's supervolcano may be set to blow.

Yellowstone National Park was hit by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake on March 30, prompting fears it could trigger a cataclysmic eruption that would cover North America in ash.

The quake was the largest in the park since 1980, and part of a series of foreshocks and aftershocks that rattled the famous park.

Bloggers and survivalists have posted videos online they say show the park's bison "running for their lives", reports The Epoch Times.

Animal instinct? ... Bison graze near a Yellowstone hot spring. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

Yellowstone National Park sits atop the Yellowstone Caldera, the crater of a massive supervolcano. The park attracts millions of visitors each year to its famous geysers and hot springs, powered by the hot lava below.

In recent years, scientists discovered the caldera is 48 kilometres wide — far larger than previously thought.

Worried blogger Jay Lee posted video of a herd of bison he says were "running for their lives" down a Yellowstone road, and warns humans should take notice.

While conceding the animals could be running from hunters or other reasons, he says: "But I'll tell you this, whatever the case may be, that their running away from Yellowstone is an alert of some sort."

Ohio survivalist Tom Lupshu said the bison count for Yellowstone is down 25 per cent this northern winter, suggesting animals may be leaving the park because they sense an impending catastrophic volcanic eruption triggered by recent earthquakes.

"They detect something vast and deadly," says Mr Lupshu of the wildlife on YouTube.

"The Yellowstone Super volcano is the only thing there that would fit the bill," he says.

The Yellowstone super volcano has had three cataclysmic eruptions — 2 million, 1.3 million and 640,000 years ago, creating a series of 'nesting' calderas, say scientists.

The eruption 2 million years ago was the most catastrophic, covering half of North America with ash and wiping out prehistoric animals, reports the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

Tourist hotspot ... Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Millions of tourists visit the park's geological wonders every year. Source: Supplied

While scientists predict it will erupt again, they say it won't happen anytime soon, reports EarthSky.

"Yellowstone is one of the biggest super volcanoes in the world," said University of Oregon geologist Ilya Bindeman.

The inevitable next 'big one' will wipe out the surroundings for hundreds of kilometres, covering the US and Canada in ash, he told EarthSky. It would devastate agriculture and cause global cooling for a decade, he says.

A volcanic eruption of that size "hasn't happened in modern civilisation," he said.

However, the US Geological Survey downplayed risk of Yellowstone Caldera erupting, saying the park gets thousands of earthquakes every year, and that helium emissions do not indicate an impending eruption.