Philadelphia Zoo invites visitors to document animal behaviors during Monday’s eclipse

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Scientists have documented changes in animal behaviors during the darkness of a total solar eclipse —  bats pour out of their caves in the middle of the day, and birds get ready to sleep.

But there’s been less research on whether animals react to a partial solar eclipse, when only a part of the sun appears to be covered by the moon.

On Monday, people in the Philadelphia region can experience a near 90% coverage of the eclipse. Visitors to the Philadelphia Zoo will have a chance to help scientists determine whether animals can sense the light changes of a partial eclipse.

“One of the amazing things about having a zoo is that it’s a living collection of animals. It is constantly growing, evolving, changing,” said primate and mammal curator Michael Stern. “And this is just a question that a lot of people started asking us as the eclipse was getting closer and closer, and we realized we really don’t know the answer to it.”

As part of the partnership with the nonprofit SciStarter, zoo visitors can observe their favorite animals and document their behaviors before, during and after the eclipse.

“It’s really just an amazing way for us to make good use of the animals here, learn something from them and get our visitors excited about nature, science, evolution and all those things,” Stern said.

Stern added he doesn’t expect animals to change their behaviors significantly during the partial eclipse. However, some animals sense small environmental changes — even when humans don’t.

“If I had to put my money on something, though, it would probably be the birds,” Stern said. “Birds can see lots of different wavelengths of light, different than humans can.”

For instance, he said, the zoo’s blue and gold macaws flapped their wings and squawked before people felt Friday’s earthquake.