Have you ever wondered how animals react during a solar eclipse? When I saw my first total solar eclipse in 2017, I noticed something strange. As the sun disappeared, all the songbirds around me landed in trees and started singing together. This isn’t a new observation. Nearly 600 years ago, an astronomer noted that birds fell from the sky in fear of the sudden darkness. More recently, a group of Galapagos tortoises huddled together during an eclipse, and some even began mating! So, what do we really know about how animals experience solar eclipses? Hi, I’m Cameron, and this is MinuteEarth.
There are many stories about animals acting oddly during eclipses, and scientists are curious too. During the 2017 eclipse in North America, at least 26 scientific papers were written about animal behavior. It seems that animals’ reactions can be grouped into different categories. Some animals show signs of anxiety, like baboons pacing, horses clustering together, and giraffes running in circles. Others display nighttime behaviors; birds return to their nests, nocturnal bullfrogs come out, and orb-weaving spiders take down their webs as if it’s nighttime. Some animals even show completely new behaviors. For example, gibbons made unusual calls, and chimpanzees climbed trees to look at the sky. However, some animals don’t seem to react at all.
Understanding animal behavior during eclipses is tricky. First, total solar eclipses are rare, happening about once every 18 months, and they only cover small areas. This means that some places might not see an eclipse for over 100 years, making it hard to study animals in the same location repeatedly. This leads to conflicting studies. For instance, one study found that black-crowned night herons make anxious noises during an eclipse, while another found they stay silent.
Second, it’s challenging to know what’s going on in an animal’s mind without repeated observations and controlled experiments. For example, we can’t be sure why those tortoises decided to mate during the eclipse. Our own expectations can also influence what we see. We might expect animals to act strangely during an eclipse, which can lead us to interpret any behavior as being caused by the eclipse.
All these stories and research might tell us more about ourselves than about the animals. Eclipses can make humans feel fear, anxiety, excitement, or wonder. It’s natural to think that animals might share some of these feelings with us.
If you live in North America, there’s an exciting opportunity coming up. A total solar eclipse will happen on Monday, April 8th, and it will pass through Canada, the US, and Mexico. We’re excited about it and have teamed up with NASA’s Heliophysics Education Activation Team to create videos exploring the science and wonder of solar eclipses. NASA HEAT aims to provide educational resources to help learners of all ages understand our sun and its effects on Earth and the solar system, bringing NASA’s work into classrooms and online to inspire future scientists.
NASA is doing something innovative to learn more about how eclipses affect animals, and you can help! By visiting EclipseSoundscapes.org, you can sign up to receive a device called an audio moth. This device will record animal sounds during the eclipse. If enough people participate, we can gain more insight into how eclipses impact animals.
During the next solar eclipse, take a notebook and observe the animals around you. Record any unusual behaviors you notice. Compare your observations with those of your classmates to see if there are any common patterns.
Work in groups to create a short documentary about how different animals react during solar eclipses. Use video clips, interviews, and your own observations to make an engaging presentation.
Choose an animal and research its typical behavior during an eclipse. Then, act out the animal’s behavior in a role-playing exercise. This will help you understand the diverse reactions animals have to eclipses.
Design an experiment to study animal behavior during an eclipse. Consider what variables you would control and how you would record data. Share your experimental design with the class and discuss its feasibility.
Participate in NASA’s EclipseSoundscapes project by signing up to receive an audio moth. Use it to record animal sounds during the next eclipse and contribute to real scientific research.
When I witnessed my first total solar eclipse in 2017, I observed something unusual—aside from the sun going dark: all the songbirds around suddenly landed in trees and began singing together. I’m not the first to notice strange animal behavior during an eclipse; nearly 600 years ago, an astronomer recorded that “birds fell down from the sky… in terror of such horrid darkness.” More recently, there was a report of a group of Galapagos tortoises huddling together during totality, after which half of them began mating before they all looked up at the sky. So, what do we actually know about how animals experience solar eclipses? Hi, I’m Cameron, and this is MinuteEarth.
There are numerous anecdotal accounts of animals behaving oddly during eclipses, dating back centuries. The scientific community is interested as well; the roughly 2 minutes of totality during the 2017 eclipse across North America alone resulted in at least 26 scientific papers on the subject.
At first glance, it seems we can categorize animals’ reactions into various groups. Some behaviors appear to be anxiety-related, such as baboons pacing in their enclosure, horses clustering together and shaking their heads and tails, or giraffes running in circles. Then there are nighttime behaviors; birds return to their roosts, nocturnal bullfrogs emerge from their hiding spots, and orb-weaving spiders—who typically build new webs daily—are tricked into dismantling their webs when darkness falls during an eclipse. There are also completely novel behaviors; in one study, a group of gibbons began making unusual calls that the researchers had not heard before, and a troop of chimpanzees reportedly climbed trees to gaze at the sky. Some animals, however, seem to show no reaction at all.
But when we delve deeper into what we actually know, things become a bit complicated. First, there’s the issue of sample size. Total solar eclipses occur approximately once every 18 months, and each one only covers a small area of the planet at a time. Consequently, specific locations can go over 100 years without experiencing an eclipse, making repeated observations of animals in the same habitat quite challenging. This leads to some studies contradicting each other; for instance, one study found that black-crowned night herons make a lot of possibly anxious noise during an eclipse, while another study claims they remain silent.
Second, it’s difficult to ascertain what is happening in an animal’s mind—especially without repeated observations and controlled experiments. For example, we cannot definitively know why those tortoises felt compelled to mate during the eclipse. This brings us to the issue of our own expectations. We tend to anticipate that animals might behave unusually during an eclipse, and these expectations can lead even the most careful observers to interpret any animal behavior during a solar eclipse as being caused by the eclipse itself.
In fact, all these anecdotes and research may reveal more about ourselves—and how profoundly eclipses impact us—than about what animals are actually doing or thinking during those 2 minutes of totality. Eclipses can evoke fear and anxiety, or excitement and wonder in humans, so it’s natural to expect—or even hope—that other creatures are sharing a piece of that experience with us.
If you live in North America, you have a great opportunity to experience this soon. There’s a total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th, which will take a sweeping path through Canada, the US, and Mexico. We’re very excited about it and have partnered with NASA’s Heliophysics Education Activation Team to create videos like this to explore the science and wonder of solar eclipses. NASA HEAT’s mission is to provide educational resources for learners of all ages to deepen their understanding of our sun and its effects on Earth and the solar system, aiming to bring NASA out of the lab and into learning spaces like classrooms and even YouTube to inspire future scientists.
NASA is also doing something innovative to advance the science discussed in this video—and you can be a part of it. By visiting EclipseSoundscapes.org, you can sign up to receive a device called an audio moth, which will record nearby animal sounds during the eclipse. If enough citizen scientists participate, we can hopefully gain more insight into how eclipses affect animals.
Animals – Living organisms that feed on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous systems and able to respond rapidly to stimuli. – In biology class, we learned how different animals adapt to their environments to survive.
Eclipse – An event in which one celestial body moves into the shadow of another celestial body. – During the solar eclipse, the moon passed between the Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking the sunlight.
Behavior – The way in which an organism acts in response to a particular situation or stimulus. – Scientists study the behavior of birds to understand how they communicate with each other.
Solar – Relating to or determined by the sun. – Solar energy is harnessed from the sun’s rays and can be used to power homes and buildings.
Anxiety – A feeling of worry or unease, often about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. – Some animals experience anxiety during thunderstorms due to the loud noises and flashes of lightning.
Nocturnal – Active during the night and asleep during the day. – Owls are nocturnal creatures, using their keen night vision to hunt for prey in the dark.
Reactions – Responses to a specific stimulus or situation. – The plant’s reactions to sunlight include opening its leaves to absorb more light for photosynthesis.
Scientists – Individuals who conduct scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of interest. – Scientists are exploring the possibility of life on other planets by studying extreme environments on Earth.
Observations – The action or process of closely monitoring something or someone to gain information. – Through careful observations, astronomers discovered new planets orbiting distant stars.
Research – The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions. – Research in genetics has led to breakthroughs in understanding hereditary diseases.
