GUWAHATI: A herd of African elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park demonstrated an instinctive display of protective behaviour during a magnitude 5.2 earthquake that struck Southern California.
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The incident took place on Monday, April 14, as the quake, which occurred around 10 AM, caused the ground to tremble across the region, including the park's elephant enclosure in Escondido.
As the tremors began, adult elephants Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi quickly responded by forming what is known as an “alert circle” around the youngest members of the herd. The behaviour, commonly observed in the wild, is a defensive tactic to shield calves from potential threats. The formation was captured on camera and later described by Mindy Albright, curator of mammals at the park, as a striking example of elephant social intelligence and communication.
“It was really neat to see them come together as a herd to protect the juvenile and then immediately try to survey their habitat,” Albright said. She explained that elephants can sense sound through their feet, often pausing to detect further vibrations and determine ongoing risk.
In this case, the protective circle lasted approximately four minutes. Once the elephants assessed that the danger had passed, they gradually dispersed while remaining close to one another.
This was not the first instance of such behaviour at the park. During the 2010 magnitude 7.2 Baja California earthquake, the same elephant herd also formed a similar alert circle.
African elephants, known for their complex social structures and communication methods, often use infrasonic rumbles to alert one another of threats over long distances.