Here's how solar eclipses affect animals

With a solar eclipse just around the corner, there has been a lot of buzz about protecting your eyes from the sun's rays, but what about our fur-friends?

During a solar eclipse, winds calm, the temperature dips and it quickly turns to night. In that moment, animals can exhibit unusual behaviour.

Birds may hide away and cease singing their songs. Dogs and cats might behave differently too, sensing something is amiss.

"I don't know that it will bother the dog at all, but he might get a little bit agitated, a little unsettled," said Martha Mansel while playing with her family dog, Bender, at the park. "They do sense changes in the environment for sure and they can indicate to us through their behaviour what that impact is. We don't get eclipses very often, so there's not a lot of information stored that I could refer to."

Dr. Mary Thompson, from the Ottawa Humane Society advises pet owners to be vigilant, as changes can be challenging for some pets, leading to increased anxiety. But it’s not just the eclipse itself that can affect pets, human behaviour plays a significant role as well.

"It's probably just if the owner is changing their routine, if you're travelling somewhere where you're not sure if it's going to be really busy or what the traffic is going to be like," said Dr. Thompson.

Thompson notes that eclipse viewing locations could be crowded.

"Be aware they could feel a little bit more stressed. They might not be acting quite their normal selves more just sort of from all these things going on. Just make sure that you've got a nice collar maybe a harness and that they're all identified with either a tag or a microchip. Keep a good eye on them and your surroundings and see what's going on,” Thompson added.

Although a solar eclipse could have animals acting strange, many experts say, one thing your pet does not need is protective eyewear, animals already know to not stare at the sun.

Herd animals, like horses are no different.

"Horses are prey animals and they always have to be ready to run if there's something threatening," said Emily Bertrand, CEO of Royale Equestrian Centre in Barrhaven. "If we have a really bright sunny day and suddenly it gets dark, it's going to take longer for their eyes to adjust to that lighting change, up to 45 minutes. Of course we're going to keep a really close eye on them because we love our horses and we're just going to try to make sure that they're happy, comfortable and relaxed."

No Cause for Alarm

Despite potential changes in behaviour, CTV's science and technology specialist, Dan Riskin says there's no need to worry about animals becoming confused or endangered during a solar eclipse.

"I’m not concerned about the safety of anybody's pets in terms of the eclipse, but it's going to be interesting to pay attention to see how they respond. I mean it's really no worse than turning the lights off for three minutes in your house and then turning them back on, which I think most people’s pets can handle," said Riskin.

"But one thing nobody's really worried is going to happen is that this is going to harm the animals in any way there's no real danger that the animals are suddenly going to be so confused by the eclipse that they are going to die of a heart attack. I don't think that's on anybody's radar."

CTV News Ottawa will have special live coverage of Monday's solar eclipse.

Watch CTVNewsOttawa.ca from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 8. You can also tune in to Newstalk 580 CFRA for continuing coverage.

CTV News will have coverage from Kingston, Brockville, Ottawa and the Niagara Region.