Animal actions during eclipse interest experts
Some nocturnal creatures likely to make appearance
As Arkansans gape at the sky while witnessing the first total eclipse in more than a century, some animals are likely to change up their own daily routines and behaviors.
Others, however, are likely to see the phenomenon as just part of another day.
Arkansas is one of 15 states where the moon will totally block the sun on April 8. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other officials have said they expect between 300,000 and 1 million visitors to the natural State.
While experts don’t anticipate any mass influxes from members of the animal kingdom, Steven Beaupre, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said animals are likely to respond in one of four different ways. They may:
■ Engage in behavior typically limited to dawn or dusk
■ Exhibit anxiety;
■ Go about their usual daily activity;
■ Do something “completely novel” that they don’t generally do at all.
One category dominates the others, according to Beaupre.
“The vast majority of animals sort of respond in that way you would expect them to respond as dusk or dawn is falling,” he said.
While that may not bring significant change for some animals, frogs and crickets may start calling, while roosters are likely to crow. People watching the eclipse in wetter areas may notice more activity from mosquitoes, moths and certain reptiles. Deer might begin to move about and feed as they typically do at dusk, and raccoons or other nocturnal animals may appear.
Other animals may settle down as if preparing to sleep. While some birds may flock or fly, still others may cease much of their activity, according to Beaupre. The eclipse will likely trigger cows’ evening activities, such as returning to their barns.
Chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas have been reported to show signs of anxiety or agitation with the onset of an eclipse if they are in captivity, the researcher said. Big lizards that are typically sedentary during the day, such as komodo dragons, have been shown to get “really active,” pacing around their enclosures.
When it comes to domestic animals, though, responses can vary, Beaupre said. Some may settle into bed, while still others may become agitated.
The researcher also referenced a study conducted during an eclipse in 2017 that examined the effect of the phenomenon on air movement in the lower atmosphere. Along with the drop in light comes a decrease in solar radiation input and temperature. Scientists in Oklahoma found that the flight of soaring birds, such as vultures, re
“This is a natural phenomenon that is very much human-oriented. We are very much interested in it. A lot of our animals are most likely going to be like, ‘hmm, that’s a big cloud,’ and just go about their business for their day.”
— Dr. Sara K. Stoneburg, senior staff veterinarian at the Little Rock Zoo
sponded to the eclipse. The researchers believed the birds’ responses were triggered not by the absence of light, but by the changes in airflow dynamics because their flight didn’t alter until well after the eclipse began.
Beaupre said research has suggested “some bizarre stuff” can also take place among certain plants during eclipses.
One study found that carbon fixation, an important step for photosynthesis, decreased by about 14% in sagebrush when the 2017 eclipse was directly overhead, he said. The reduction may slow the emergence of leaves.
According to Beaupre, some accounts relate instances in which flowers close.
“It’s something to watch for, anyway,” he said. “Because it would be kind of fun to see that.”
Despite these possible changes to the behavior of certain types of animals and even plants, Dr. Sara K. Stoneburg, senior staff veterinarian at the Little Rock Zoo, said she believes the animals in her care will largely go about their daily lives.
“This is a natural phenomenon that is very much human-oriented,” she said. “We are very much interested in it. A lot of our animals are most likely going to be like, ‘hmm, that’s a big cloud,’ and just go about their business for their day.”
LIMITED RESEARCH
Stoneburg said there is little in the way of extensive research about animal behavior during eclipses, likely in part because they happen so rarely.
Anecdotal information about such instances goes back centuries, but it wasn’t until fairly recently that people began intentionally collecting data.
Researchers during the past few eclipses have collected data in two different contexts: animals in zoos and those that are “more in the wild,” Beaupre said.
He described “almost armies of paranaturalists” that have gone to work during eclipses, watching animals in their yards, farms and the like; those observers then report their findings back to a central organization or facility.
Numerous studies were conducted during the 2017 eclipse. One at a South Carolina zoo noticed several changes to animal behaviors, according to The Associated Press. Galapagos tortoises at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, S.C., began to breed, while flamingos gathered around their juveniles, for instance.
A separate study that took place in 1932 focused on a portion of New England. That research resulted in some “interesting anecdotes,” according to Beaupre.
Some observers then reported seeing bats take to the skies. This is somewhat unusual, as bats often don’t emerge during eclipses — they generally roost so far back into caves that they can’t clearly notice any changes in light outside, Beaupre said.
The researcher suggested that the active bats were probably species that roosted in areas where it would be easier to see the light.
During a celebration the Little Rock Zoo will hold during the eclipse, attendees will be able to observe for themselves how its animals respond to the phenomenon.
Stoneburg said patrons are encouraged to report to the zoo any observations they find interesting. She described the effort as a “citizen science project,” one of several that have been conducted by the facility.
Other zoos that are in the path of totality, such as those in Toledo, Ohio, and Indianapolis, are also inviting patrons to inform them of what they notice.
Researchers hope that this information, meant to complement biologists’ own observations of the event, will help to paint a fuller picture of how animals in various habitats and circumstances might respond.
Still, Stoneburg said she expects such changes in behavior at the zoos to be limited.
She also doesn’t anticipate people’s pets to respond much differently, though she said she has received several questions from owners about their dogs.
“I think it’s going to be a great thing in Little Rock, and they’re going to see a great phenomenon with this eclipse for us as humans,” she said. “But I think our pets and our animals around the world are just going to think it’s a normal day.”