AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Zoo hosted an event called Total Eclipse of the Zoo, inviting 2,500 people from all over the country to watch the solar eclipse as well as learn how certain animals may react or not react during the historic event.
Carrie Basset is the education mission manager at Akron Zoo. The zoo is participating in a citizen science program called Soundscapes Eclipse. The program will study what zoos and native animals are doing during the eclipse.
“We're excited to see because there has not been a lot of research on animals during eclipses. So, the last time a big study was done was in the 1932 Eclipse. We're excited to be part of this national program that's going to be tracking animals across the United States,” said Basset.
Basset said they will be studying zoo animals and native animals in Ohio.
“Historically, it seems the biggest responses that you get are your daytime animals seem to think when the totality hits that it's bedtime, so they go to bed or trying to eat their dinner. Then your nocturnal animals, your nighttime animals, think that it's time to get up,” said Basset.
In 2017, the Riverbanks Zoo did a study on their animals, and they saw different behaviors from animals.
“After the Eclipse passed, they noticed that the flamingos were looking up and around and trying to figure out what happened and why it went dark so quick. They did show like that flock mentality to move together and protect the babies in the middle of their flock during the eclipse because of the weird situation that was happening,” said Basset.
Basset said she was most excited to see the animals that weren’t studied, such as bears, lions and red coyotes. As well as the Galapagos tortoises.
"In the past, the Galapagos tortoises began breeding during an eclipse and looking up at the sky," Basset said.
Today, the Galapagos tortoises at Akron Zoo did not breed, but educators said they were much more active than usual and looking in the sky right before totality.
Many people were excited to see how the animals would react to the two minutes and forty seconds of darkness and share a historic moment with their families.
“We’re excited to see if the animals get scared, but also were happy to be here with our family because we’re going to be here for the next one, they’re not,” said 13-year-old Brooke.
Kathleen Argyle traveled with her son and father from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“My father has pancreatic cancer, and so it's been an up-and-down roller coaster for a few years. It’s been four years and he's doing great. He said he wanted to do this, and I said let’s go, I'll do a vacation with my dad, this a tribute to him,” said Argyle.
Basset said they began studying the animals on Friday and will continue to study their behavior 2-days after the eclipse.
