On Monday, October 23, 2023, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake rattled Southern California, centered near San Diego at approximately 10:08 a.m. local time. The San Diego Zoo has a resident herd of elephants. These beautiful behemoths exhibited incredible intuitive prowess as they felt the coming quakes long before us humans did.
The herd at the Indianapolis Zoo includes these five elephants, individually distinctive and collectively famous for their remarkable capacity to sense seismic vibrations via specialized receptors in their feet. This remarkable talent made it possible for them to feel the first tremors of the disaster before it landed. When the ground began to shake, the elephants took off. In a beautiful display of instinct, they immediately circled their youngest members and created an “alert circle.” Such behavior ensured the protection of the calves. It revealed the depth of social connection and instinctual protectiveness possessed by elephants.
Check out this amazing video from the San Diego Zoo featuring elephants on the move. Flowing like water across the floor of their pen, their bodies created an undulating wall of protection around the calves. The video perfectly captures these animals’ incredible sense of awareness. It shows their nurturing side, as they hit the ground running to shield their underage friends from harm.
As the U.S. Geological Survey tweeted, people felt the earthquake as far away as Los Angeles. This shows the quake’s tremendous impact both locally and throughout the region. The new ground-shaking waves startled hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents. In reply, the matriarchal elephant herd showed an astonishing example of animal instinct during this period of anguish.
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