Animals have been known for having interesting reactions to solar eclipses. From your neighbors dog to the giraffe at the zoo, many animals change their behavior during an eclipse due to the rarity of the astronomical event.
In previous years, weird animal sightings have occurred during solar eclipse totality. Tortoises began to breed and giraffes began to gallop at the peak of the eclipse NC State University researcher Adam Hartstone-Rose told the LA Times. Kari Streiber, vice president of marketing and communications at the Dallas Zoo, shared her observations from today’s event.
Kari Streiber: “The elephants got together in a space and the giraffes and zebras did move around quite a bit and the ostriches were moving around in a kind of a shared space [and] were galloping and moving around quickly back there. But they ended up getting still moving toward their behind the scenes areas like they were going in for the night when we were in totality”
According to a journal published in the National Library of Medicine, 75 percent of animals studied at a zoo in South Carolina had a behavior response to the 2017 total eclipse with many showing their nighttime behaviors and some even expressing obvious anxiety during the event. Streiber mentioned one of their Gorillas exhibited strange behavior during the event.
Streiber: “There were animals that ended up being in different places in their habitats than they normally would. I know one of our gorillas, who typically has a favorite spot, was in a different spot in the habitat. And so we definitely noticed some changes in behavior, but again, nothing extreme and nothing kind of too out of the ordinary for what you would think about how they would respond to the their surroundings changing in the way that they did.”
Another study published to The Royal Society focused on American birds in the wild and found that during the 2017 eclipse birds and insects stopped flying as the sky got progressively darker. Scientists said the behavior exhibited was similar to when a storm is approaching and birds seek shelter. David Rodrigue, executive director of the Eco Museums in Montreal, Canada, talked about how this affected the birds and other wildlife.
David Rodrigue: “We did see at the point of totality something really did happen and we saw it in two different areas at the same time. The wild birds and the frogs, [who] were singing already, just stopped completely during totality. It just stopped abruptly, and it restarted afterwards.”
The recommendations from Best Friend’s Animals Society, a leading national animal and welfare organization, gave some tips to keep your pets safe during the eclipse. For the next eclipse, consider closing your blinds or curtains to avoid exposure to the eclipse, and if you are outside with your pet make sure you keep them leashed and close to you.