Solar eclipse will cause some animals to

behave strangely
By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.18.17
Word Count 429
Level 610L

An orb-weaver spider is photographed in San Juan Capistrano. Scientists found that these spiders dismantle their webs
during a total eclipse. Photo by: Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times/TNS

On August 21 the moon will pass in front of the sun and block its light. For a few minutes, the
sky will get dark. This is called a solar eclipse. It is a very rare event.

The August eclipse is called the "Great American Eclipse." It can be seen across a large part
of the United States.

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Humans will travel far and wide to watch the Great American Eclipse. What will animals do?

Scientists think animals act differently during an eclipse. In fact, people have seen animals do
some strange things during eclipses. Songbirds go quiet. Large farm animals lie down.
Crickets start to chirp.

Animals Acting Unusual

Elise Ricard works at the California Academy of Sciences. She once watched an eclipse from
a beach near a jungle. The whole forest went quiet just before the eclipse. This is not normal
for a jungle, she said.

Doug Duncan runs a planetarium. He remembers llamas acting strange during an eclipse.
They formed a line beside him to watch the eclipse.

Joanna Chiu studies animal behavior. She says that many animal patterns are based on
sunlight. This is why animals can act strange when the sun disappears during the day. The
eclipse does not change the way they act forever, though.

Fish also act differently during an eclipse. Scientists found that some fish hide during the
darkness. Fish that are usually awake at night come out of hiding.

One type of spider will take apart its web during the eclipse. When the sun comes back out, it
will put it back together.

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An Interactive Science Project

Scientists plan to study animals during this year's eclipse. It is the perfect way to see how
animals react to changes in light.

Ricard helped start a new citizen science project. It is called Life Responds. The project uses
a mobile app called iNaturalist.

You don't have to be a scientist to participate.

People who see strange animal behaviors can share them in the app. This will help scientists.
They will learn more about how land animals react to a total eclipse.

Ricard suggests looking for changes in squirrel behavior. Another suggestion is to look for
animals like bats or owls. These animals are nocturnal. This means they usually come out at
night. They may come out during the eclipse when the sky gets dark.

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