Elephants at Copenhagen Zoo reacted to earthquake, zoo director says

Elephants at Copenhagen Zoo reacted visibly when an earthquake shook the ground beneath them on Wednesday afternoon, according to the zoo’s director, Mads Frost Bertelsen. The earthquake, which struck at 16.14 local time, was felt across several locations in Denmark, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

Bertelsen was near some parrots at the time of the tremor, but a colleague was inside the elephant house and observed the animals responding to the shaking. Security footage reviewed by Bertelsen confirmed the reaction: the elephants appeared to wake, looked around, and then gathered together before calming down shortly after. “You can see them wake up and say ‘what is this?’ and then they run together and gather,” he told DR.

Bertelsen noted that such a response is not unusual for elephants. They communicate using low-frequency sounds and are known to detect vibrations through their feet, he explained.

A cat named Mila from Roskilde also reacted to the tremors by stopping and looking around, according to a video sent to DR by a user.

Bengt Holst, a zoologist and chair of the Danish Animal Ethics Council, advised pet owners not to overreact. “One of the worst things you can do is fuss over them,” he said. He explained that it is natural for animals to react to a potential threat, but because the earthquake was brief, most pets calmed down on their own. “They can certainly be startled when it happens, similar to thunder. But once it is over, they calm down again, and it becomes just another thing happening around them,” Holst said.

Tags: Copenhagen Zoo, earthquake, animal behavior