Dear Sierre,

I had never thought of how life other than humans reacts to a solar eclipse- good question! I'm going to guess that since a solar eclipse darkens the sky for only a few minutes, animals and plants are not greatly affectd. A solar eclipse would be similar to a very dark cloud cover, and so I think animals (and plants for that matter) would not react dramatically, such as wanting to change sleep and eating patterns. If solar eclipses lasted for several hours, this might cause some confusion in animal instincts and behavior.

Holly

Often animals and birds will think that night is falling and will do nesting or roosting behavior. When I was watching an eclipse from a cruise ship, a group of dolphins came up to the surface and looked up as if they were wondering what was happening! I suppose even plants might react but I haven't noticed that. In Egypt last year the temperature dropped 20 degrees, so animals and plants can definitely sense the changes.