Video: The Incredible Thing These Israeli Zoo Elephants Do With Their Young When Missile Sirens Blare

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The parental instinct affects all variety of creatures, and elephants are apparently no exception.

When an incoming missile siren was heard at the Zoological Center in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, four adult elephants moved to create a physical barrier to protect two young elephants.

Elephants at the Ramat Gan Zoological Center in Israel used their bodies as a physical barrier around their young when a siren blared signaling a Gaza rocket launch on Israel (Image source: Ynet)

Minutes after the siren stopped, the elephants began to disperse, though seemed to be doing so tentatively.

A visitor to the park on Wednesday captured the moment the siren went off and the elephants instinctively moved into their defensive formation. A boom can be heard, though it’s unclear whether it was the impact of a rocket, the firing of the Iron Dome anti-missile system or something else.

Zoo spokeswoman Sagit Horowitz shared the video with the Israeli website Ynet and said, “The moment the siren was heard, the elephants ran to defend the young and didn’t leave them until the danger passed. One visitor was really moved by the sight and decided to document the event.”

“Animals are sensitive and aren’t used to the situation. Unfortunately, we have experience with this,” Horowitz said.

The spokeswoman said the chimpanzees scream when there are sirens. The sounds of animals crying out are heard on the video.

The zoo moves the animals to sleeping houses at night, so they won’t be susceptible to breaking glass in their display cages in the event a missile were to fall nearby, Horowitz said.

(H/T: Times of Israel)