Watch: Elephants at San Diego Zoo form protective huddle during earthquake to shield calves

As a 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook Southern California on Monday morning, a herd of African elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park instinctively sprang into action to protect their young, forming a defensive huddle that was captured on video.

Footage from the enclosure shows the elephants calmly standing under the morning sun when the ground begins to tremble. Startled, they first scatter, then quickly regroup as the older matriarchs — Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi — close ranks around the two calves, Zuli and Mkhaya. The adult elephants hold their formation, ears spread and alert, for several minutes even after the shaking stops.

“They sort of freeze as they gather information about where the danger is,” said Mindy Albright, curator of mammals at the park.



The incident, which highlights elephants’ powerful social bonds and protective instincts, occurred around 10:10 a.m. near Julian, the quake's epicenter. While the tremor was felt as far as Los Angeles and Tijuana and caused boulders to tumble onto rural roads, no major injuries or damage were reported.

According to Albright, the elephants' reaction is typical of their behaviour in the wild. When threatened, elephant herds often form an “alert circle” — young in the centre, adults facing outward — to defend against potential dangers. In the video, one calf runs straight to the safety of the adults, while the male calf, Zuli, hesitates on the edge, showing a streak of youthful independence. He is gently coaxed back by Khosi, who taps him reassuringly with her trunk.

“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 said.

About an hour later, when an aftershock hit, the elephants briefly huddled again before returning to their normal routine, staying close together in a show of continued solidarity.