Solar eclipse 2024: How will animals react to the eclipse?

Solar eclipse 2024: How will animals react to eclipse?

During the eclipse Monday, researchers are anxious to see how animals behave as the day will seemingly become night and then back to day.

PHILADELPHIA - People will be looking up at the sky when the eclipse happens, but how will animals react in the total solar eclipse where day becomes night?

Back in 2017 for the last total solar eclipse, scientists studied how zoo animals reacted in South Carolina where the skies went dark.

They discovered Galapagos tortoises started breeding during the peak, giraffes started to gallop, and other animals displayed behaviors connected with dusk.

When FOX 29’s Drew Anderson was in Tennessee for the full eclipse, he recalled the birds stopped singing when it got dark.

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Back in South Carolina, flamingos at the zoo gathered around their chicks during the eclipse as if trying to protect them.

During this year’s eclipse, researchers are going to study how the eclipse impacts animals in Texas to see if the behaviors they witnessed before in South Carolina point to larger patterns.

As for your pets, scientists say overall the biggest impact on their behavior will not be the sudden darkness, but rather they'll react to your behavior.

"Essentially, everything we know about animal behavior during the eclipse could reasonably be regarded as anecdotal because there's so little information about it. But the only way that we can confirm this stuff is to take every opportunity that we can to go out and witness it ourselves. It's my sincere hope that other scientists will eventually join along."

FOX 29 has you covered with everything you need to prepare for the 2024 Solar Eclipse in Philadelphia.