Don't leave us in the dark! Spooked giraffes, zebras and ostriches at Dallas Zoo freak out during eclipse... but not everyone's feeling the mania that swept the country!

Spooked giraffes, zebras and ostriches went running in circles as total darkness fell over Dallas Zoo for the 2024 solar eclipse - but the elephants weren't phased. 

The Zoo offered a special eclipse-event and had staff stationed around the park to talk about how the animals reacted as visitors flocked to be in the path of totality that swept up through Mexico and North America on Monday. 

The total solar eclipse brought the country to a standstill as millions stopped work and school to find any point they could to view the rare celestial phenomenon. 

At the Dallas Zoo, keepers hadn't known what to expect, guessing that primates would be the most sensitive to the eclipse and birds might sense it's night and think it's time to perch. 

But it was the giraffes, zebras and ostriches who had the strongest reactions, getting more and more spooked as the day time sky fell dark.  

Christine Montgomery, Manager of Applied Behavior at the Dallas Zoo, told CW33: 'This is the first eclipse that we’ve actually had here in the Dallas Zoo, so we are really interested to see what our animals are going to do.'

The giraffes were the first to bolt, galloping in huge strides across their enclosure

The zebras were next, joining them to run about in circles giving little jumps

Then the ostriches joined in too, flapping about and kicking their legs

She said: 'We’re not anticipating them to be doing anything that remarkable, but come along to the zoo with us. 

'We’re going to be observing and seeing what happens, so you’re going to learn right along with us.'

A crowd gathered at the Zoo to watch the eclipse and at first everything was calm. 

But as the sky began to darken the animals became more alert and some began to spook. 

The ostriches gathered together in a bunch in the center of their pen, and one laid an egg just before the sun was completely covered. 

Birds returned to their perches to nest thinking it was night time while penguins and flamingos huddled close together. 

Not everyone was phased as the elephants remained calm even as full darkness fell

As the sky began to darken the animals became more alert and some began to spook

Watching crowds were delighted by the eclipse and seeing how the animals reacted

As the Zoo descended into complete darkness the giraffes were the first to bolt, galloping in huge strides across their enclosure. 

The zebras were next, joining them to run about in circles giving little jumps. 

And then the ostriches joined in too, flapping about and kicking their legs. 

But not all the animals were phased. 

The elephants were completely nonplussed by the eclipse, standing and eating as if there were nothing remarkable going on whatsoever. 

And the Western Lowland Gorillas merely yawned and stretched as the skies got darker. 

The watching crowds were delighted by the displays, cheering and filming the animals. 

The Western Lowland Gorillas merely yawned and stretched as the skies got darker

It remained totally nonplussed as crowds gathered to see how it would react

The giraffes calmed down again after a while as the sky lightened again

A 2020 study of how animals react to the zoo said that the rarity of an eclipse makes it a 'novel experience' for animals and so may induce 'anomalous behaviors'. 

They found that of the 17 species they observed, 13 exhibited unusual behaviors. 

They found that a number of the species exhibited anxious behaviors, huddling together or falling quiet. 

Komodo dragons had one of the most interesting changes in the study, going from lying almost perfectly still to running around frantically until the sun reappeared when he then fell still again. 

Baboons, flamingos, gorillas, giraffes and Komodo dragons all displayed worried behaviors, while birds and elephants just acted as thought it was night time. 

Thousands packed towns along the total solar eclipse 'path of totality' where the moon will completely blocked the sun, starting in Mexico and moving through Texas up to New England and finishing in Canada.

In any one location along the path, people saw a partial eclipse followed by the total eclipse, and then a partial eclipse again.