Elephants Formed an Alert Circle Around Their Young During a 5.2 Earthquake
Quick Answer: When a 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck Southern California on April 14, 2025, five African elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park reacted by forming an “alert circle.” Three adult females—Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi—gathered around the two 7-year-old calves, Zuli and Mkhaya, while facing outward and remaining alert to their surroundings.
Introduction
On April 14, 2025, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook Southern California near Julian, and cameras at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park captured an unusual response from a herd of African elephants.
Instead of simply scattering and remaining apart, the elephants quickly came back together. Three adult females—Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi—moved around the two young elephants, Zuli and Mkhaya, forming what elephant-care experts describe as an “alert circle.”
The behavior is especially interesting because elephant herds are highly social groups in which adults can respond collectively when the herd perceives a potential threat.
 |
| An illustrative recreation of African elephants forming an alert circle around young calves following the 5.2-magnitude San Diego earthquake in April 2025. Illustration: The Pader. Based on a documented animal story. |
What Happened When the Earthquake Struck?
The earthquake occurred on the morning of April 14, 2025. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded it as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake located about 5 kilometers south of Julian, California.
At the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, video showed the elephants initially moving in different directions as the ground shook. They then regrouped, with the adult females moving around the younger members of the herd.
Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi positioned themselves around Zuli and Mkhaya, with the adults facing outward. The formation lasted for several minutes while the elephants remained alert and appeared to assess their surroundings.
According to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, this type of formation is known as an alert circle. It is a natural response to perceived threats and can help place younger elephants in a more protected position within the group.
Photo: Katsutoshi Seki.
Source: Wikimedia Commons — Elephants at San Diego Zoo.
License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 (CC BY-SA 3.0).
What Is an Elephant “Alert Circle”?
An alert circle is a defensive group formation in which adult elephants gather around younger or more vulnerable members while facing outward.
The arrangement allows the adults to monitor the surrounding environment from different directions. Meanwhile, younger elephants can remain closer to the center of the group.
This does not mean that elephants always form an alert circle whenever an earthquake occurs. The San Diego event is a documented example of the behavior occurring after a sudden environmental disturbance.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has also documented similar group behavior in another context. When Zuli was born in 2018, members of the herd gathered around the newborn and displayed related social behavior.
Which Elephants Were Involved?
The five elephants seen in the documented earthquake response were Ndlula, Umngani, Khosi, Zuli, and Mkhaya.
Ndlula and Umngani are adult females, while Khosi is a younger female who is also part of the herd's social structure. Zuli and Mkhaya were both 7 years old at the time of the earthquake.
The event therefore involved more than a simple reaction by individual animals. It showed several members of the same social group responding together after a sudden disturbance.
Can Elephants Feel Vibrations Through Their Feet?
Yes. Elephants are capable of detecting low-frequency sounds and vibrations traveling through the ground. Their feet can play an important role in detecting these signals.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance explains that elephants can detect sounds and vibrations through their foot pads as part of their ability to communicate and gather information from their environment.
However, this should not be confused with proof that the elephants predicted the earthquake before it happened.
The footage documents what the elephants did as the earthquake occurred, but it cannot establish exactly what sensory information triggered their response or whether they detected the earthquake before humans did.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey — M 5.2 - 5 km S of Julian, CA.
License: Public Domain.
Why Did the Elephants Form a Circle?
The most direct explanation is that the elephants were responding to a perceived threat or sudden environmental change.
Mindy Albright, a curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, described the elephants as coming together and assessing what was happening around them. The zoo's account describes the alert circle as a natural response to significant events and potential danger.
The behavior also fits what is known about elephant social organization. African elephants live in complex social groups, and adults can respond collectively when younger members may be vulnerable.
It is important, however, not to assign human thoughts or emotions to the animals beyond what the evidence supports. We can document their formation, positioning, and behavior, but the video alone cannot tell us exactly what each elephant was thinking.
The Herd Formed the Circle Again After an Aftershock
The unusual behavior did not happen only once.
About an hour after the main earthquake, an aftershock occurred. Reports from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Associated Press said the elephants briefly gathered together again before dispersing once they appeared to determine that the immediate danger had passed.
The second response is significant because it shows that the elephants reacted to another disturbance in their environment rather than forming the original circle only once.
What This Moment Reveals About Elephant Behavior
The earthquake footage provides a striking example of how social animals can respond collectively to sudden environmental changes.
The adult elephants did not simply remain separated after the initial disturbance. They regrouped around the younger members and maintained an outward-facing formation while remaining alert.
Similar protective formations are part of the behavioral repertoire of elephants. The San Diego incident therefore offers a real-world example of a documented elephant behavior occurring during an unusual environmental event.
It also demonstrates why careful wording matters. The evidence supports saying that the elephants responded to the earthquake and formed an alert circle. It does not establish that they predicted the earthquake or that they consciously understood what an earthquake was.
FAST FACTS
- Earthquake: Magnitude 5.2.
- Date: April 14, 2025.
- Location: About 5 km south of Julian, California.
- Elephants involved: Ndlula, Umngani, Khosi, Zuli, and Mkhaya.
- Young elephants: Zuli and Mkhaya were 7 years old.
- Behavior: The adults formed an “alert circle” around the younger elephants.
- Aftershock: The herd briefly regrouped again after a later aftershock.
Conclusion
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park earthquake footage captured a documented example of elephant social behavior during a sudden environmental disturbance.
Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi formed an alert circle around Zuli and Mkhaya, facing outward while remaining attentive to their surroundings. The group later briefly repeated the behavior after an aftershock.
Elephants can detect low-frequency sounds and ground vibrations, including signals transmitted through their feet. But while this sensory ability may help elephants gather information about their surroundings, the available footage does not prove that the animals predicted the earthquake.
What the event clearly demonstrates is the importance of social coordination in elephant herds—and how a sudden disturbance can trigger a coordinated response among closely connected animals.
More From The Pader
Amazing Animal Stories: Remarkable Animals and the Stories Behind Them
How Elephants Use Low-Frequency Sounds to Communicate
Why Elephants Shelter From the Rain
Sources and Further Reading
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance — Nature’s Survival Instincts
U.S. Geological Survey — M 5.2 - 5 km S of Julian, California
Mongabay — Why Captive Elephants Formed a Circle During the San Diego Earthquake
Associated Press — Elephants at San Diego Safari Park Huddle to Protect Calves During Earthquake
Status: FACT-CHECKED
The central event is confirmed by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, the U.S. Geological Survey, and multiple independent reports. A magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred near Julian, California, on April 14, 2025, and elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park formed an alert circle around two 7-year-old calves.
The identities of the five elephants involved—Ndlula, Umngani, Khosi, Zuli, and Mkhaya—are supported by the zoo and reporting from the Associated Press.
The article does not state that the elephants predicted the earthquake. Although elephants can detect low-frequency sounds and ground vibrations through their feet, the available footage does not establish precisely what sensory information triggered the response or whether the animals detected the earthquake before the shaking began.
The two supporting images in this article are contextual images, not photographs of the 2025 earthquake event. The elephant photograph is from Wikimedia Commons and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. The earthquake map is from the U.S. Geological Survey and is identified as public domain.
The Pader presents wildlife and science information using credible sources and accessible language. Scientific information may be updated as new research emerges.