They say that the earth doesn’t belong to us; we belong to the earth, and it’s sometimes easy to overlook that simple fact. Indeed, while nature may be all around to us, we often forget to truly stop and appreciate the wonders that surround us. Thankfully, glimpses into how the animal kingdom and Mother Nature work in tandem can be witnessed in the briefest of moments, and a rare interaction was caught on camera in San Diego Zoo during an earthquake yesterday morning. In it, a herd of African elephants were seen instinctively forming an “alert circle” in a bid to protect each other from any dangers caused by the earthquake.
The 34-second snippet of video opens in the elephant enclosure in San Diego Zoo, and is accompanied by the description, “When a 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook Southern California Monday morning…” A few moments into the clip, you can see the camera begin to shake due to the shocks caused by the earthquake. Straightaway, you can see the elephants beginning to become quite agitated.
Initially, the five African elephants are separate and in different parts of the enclosure. However, as the earthquake begins, the five elephants start to group together in a close knit circle, with the smallest elephant in the middle. According to the zoo, this instinctive response is known as the “circle of trust” or an “alert circle.”
Elephants have the unique ability to feel sounds through their feet and formed an “alert circle” during the 5.2 magnitude earthquake that shook Southern California this morning. This behavior is a natural response to perceived threats to protect the herd.
San Diego Zoo
After this morning’s shake-up, eles Ndlula, Zuli, Mkhaya, Umngani, and Khosi are back to their regular routine and safe alongside the rest of the crew here at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
With the rare footage making the rounds online, viewers couldn’t resist hopping into the comments section to air their thoughts on the video. One user on TikTok chimed in writing, “THEY PUT THE SMALLEST ONE IN THE MIDDLE 😭😭😭😭” while another chipped in with, “Please say the zoo keepers gave them a fruit reward for being so good in a scary situation.” Meanwhile, over on Reddit, one commenter declared, “Elephants can feel members of their herd from miles away through their feet. I can only imagine how jarring an earthquake would be in comparison“
