Your Toronto Zoo: Solar Eclipse

Your Toronto Zoo is inviting guests to become Junior Citizen Scientists! On Monday, April 8th a rare celestial event will be taking place at approximately 2:55pm as a solar eclipse passes through Ontario. There is very little documentation about how animals react to solar eclipses, and our Welfare Science team is inviting the community to help document the activities of Toronto Zoo animals while this rare event takes place!

The sun will be almost entirely covered, and during this dark period, we’re interested in the activity levels of the Toronto Zoo animals and any changes in their behaviours. Complimentary Solar Eclipse glasses will be provided to all Zoo guests to ensure everyone’s safety.

The science team will be asking guests to collect data the day before and after the eclipse as well, which will then be used as comparable data. The data collected from these two regular days will help to establish that the changes that the guests observe the day of the eclipse are more likely due to the eclipse than due to other factors.