It’s an incredible experience to observe a solar eclipse, but not only for the eclipse itself. A large portion of the animal kingdom reacts to solar eclipses, some of them in surprisingly unique ways.
A 2001 study of African wildlife showed that hippos feel like their daily routine has been disrupted, and act nervously after the eclipse has finished. Turtle doves and other birds go silent when it turns dark, and sing at the return of daylight, as if a new day has just begun. The change among insects is probably the easiest to notice: mosquitoes become more active, and the chirps of crickets become noticeably louder.
My favorite is the reaction of orb-weaving spiders. They quickly disassemble their webs when under totality, but when light returns, they build new ones to replace the previous webs.
Here’s a short video showing some of the animals at Paignton Zoo in England during a solar eclipse (no spiders, I promise). Thanks for reading!
