- A herd of elephants was caught on camera protecting their young after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit the San Diego area on Monday, April 14
- The San Diego Zoo Safari Park posted a video of the heartwarming moment, showing how the animals formed an “alert circle”
- The safari park said that the behavior was “a natural response to perceived threats that helps protect younger elephants and the herd as a whole”
A herd of elephants immediately rushed to protect their young in an adorable clip after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake rocked the areas around San Diego.
On the morning of Monday, April 14, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed the earthquake’s epicenter had hit 5km (around 3.1 miles) south of Julian, California in San Diego County.
After the quake shook the area, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park revealed that their older elephants had sprung into action and formed an “alert circle” to protect the younger animals, and shared a sweet video of the moment at Escondido, California on Instagram and YouTube.
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“Circle of trust … Elephants have the unique ability to feel sounds through their feet and formed what is known as an ‘alert circle’ during the 5.2 magnitude earthquake that shook Southern California this morning,” the safari park wrote in an Instagram caption on Monday.
“This behavior, demonstrated here by Ndlula, Zuli, Mkhaya, Umngani, and Khosi, is a natural response to perceived threats that helps protect younger elephants and the herd as a whole,” the caption added.
The post concluded, “After this morning’s shake up, the eles returned to business as usual and are safe along with the rest of the crew at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.”
“The herd went back to normal shortly afterwards, though stayed close together,” a caption written over the clip read.
Per the Associated Pressthe two calves — Zuli and Mkhaya — are 7 years old.
AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi
Mindy Albright, a curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, said that once the animals get into a circle, “they sort of freeze as they gather information about where the danger is,” per the news agency.
“It’s so great to see them doing the thing we all should be doing — that any parent does, which is protect their children,” Albright added to the outlet.
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The AP stated that the elephants briefly formed another circle after an aftershock hit around an hour after the first quake. The epicenter for that 4.0-magnitude quake was located 4 km (around 2.5 miles) south-southeast of Julian, the USGS noted. Per CBS Newsthere were multiple smaller aftershocks after the initial quake.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said on X on Monday that there had reportedly been “no known visible or major damage to the city so far.”
“San Diego experienced a strong earthquake centered near Julian. There’s no known visible or major damage to the city so far and I’m in communication with local, state, and federal officials,” he posted.
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment on the viral clip of the elephants.
