Surprising Ways Animals React to Solar Eclipses

For a few precious minutes on August 21, darkness will descend across the United States as a historic total solar eclipse crosses the continent from coast to coast.

Millions of people already live under the path of totality, and tens of millions more will make the trek to see the moon blot out the sun. Astronomers already expect that this eclipse will be the most witnessed sky-watching event in human history. (See our map of the best places to watch the solar eclipse.)But according to biologists and long-time eclipse chasers, humans won’t be the only ones reacting to the dramatic changes in the sky.

During a total eclipse, the sky darkens to twilight levels and air temperatures drop. Over the centuries, people who have witnessed these effects have also noted that a variety of animals seem to change their behaviors in response.