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Journalism of Courage
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California on Monday, as reported by the US Geological Survey. The epicentre was located in San Diego County, though tremors were felt as far north as Los Angeles. Among the many videos capturing the quake’s impact, one heartwarming clip emerged on social media, showing elephants at the San Diego Safari Park instinctively shielding their calves to protect them during the tremors.
The viral video captured from the elephants’ enclosure at the San Diego Safari Park on Monday morning shows five African elephants calmly standing under the morning sun. Suddenly, the camera begins to shake as the earthquake hits, prompting the elephants to scatter in different directions.
Moments later, the older elephants, Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi, quickly formed a protective circle around the two 7-year-old calves, Zuli and Mkhaya, shielding them from any danger, NBC News reported. The group stays closely huddled for several minutes, with the adult elephants standing alert and ears flapping.
Watch here:
The video quickly gained traction, winning heartwarming comments from social media users. “This is so precious, we could learn from this,” a user wrote. “Elephants even have an earthquake drill. I love it,” another user commented.
“I did not feel the earthquake here in Simi Valley but I am amazed by the elephants and how they reacted to what they felt. They are such sensitive and protective creatures. I just love them,” a third user reacted.
The earthquake was felt across a wide area, from San Diego up to Los Angeles, roughly 120 miles away. In San Diego County, it triggered rockslides that sent boulders crashing onto rural roads and caused items to fall off shelves in the small mountain town of Julian, located near the epicenter. However, there were no reports of injuries or casualties, NBC News reported.
