Introduction to the Project
“The main goal of the Solar Max project is to gather thousands of scientists, students, educators and casual observers all across the U.S., Canada and Mexico to observe live animal behaviour data using our custom app during an extremely rare Total Solar Eclipse.” – Edward Csuka
What is a Total Solar Eclipse?
When the moon reaches a point in orbit when it obscures part of the sun as viewed from Earth, a solar eclipse occurs. Furthermore, if t
he sun is covered altogether it is called a total solar eclipse – an event that occurs only once every 300 years or so.
Path of the Eclipse
The path of the eclipse continued from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveled through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan also experienced the total solar eclipse. The eclipse entered Canada in Southern Ontario, and continued through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton. The eclipse exited continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, at 5:16 p.m. NDT.
The Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
The animal I was given the task of observing was the asian elephant – the enclosure was split into two sections and my responsibility was the sole male asian elephant, named Colonel.
Herbivore; they are mammals that reside in the forests and grasslands of South and Southeast asia. They are the smaller version of the African elephants, and have ears that are much more rounded than their counterparts’. Extremely sociable as they are, they are known to spend over two thirds of their day eating.
Predictions & Observations
Although the elephants did seem to be acting in a fairly predictable manner before the actual observations began, as lazy as they are I expected their behaviour to become even a tiny bit more erratic as we neared the eclipse and that they might even show signs of confusion or a sudden urge to sleep due to the sudden darkness.
The actual observations were some of the most boring hours I’ve ever spent in my life aside from the eclipse itself. The elephant constantly ate, and when it wasn’t eating it was twirling its dispenser of so that more of its sustenance would drop onto the ground for it to eat. Even during the minute of totality there were no changes in his pattern – Colonel was completely consistent throughout the entire observation.
Conclusion
Witnessing totality through my eclipse glasses was one of the most unforgettable events that has ever happened in my life; observing Colonel evened out all the sudden changes (including the behavioural changes of the people around me) with its unwavering consistency and its overall ability to completely ignore what was going on. Maybe if the eclipse had lingered just a bit longer it would have done something different, but as it was merely a minute the elephant seemed to just wave it off as something it goes through on a daily basis.
Time for some photos
