What Animal Gets Struck By Lightning The Most
An interesting question: exercise giraffes become struck by lightning more than often than other animals? At first, it looks funny, just when you think that giraffes are way taller and pointier than other land animals, why they shouldn't exist? And, interestingly, there are studies about that subject, and some of them are even peer-reviewed!
An animal getting struck by lightning is really more mutual than one might think. In general, four-legged animals, particularly if they are large, are more than vulnerable to lightning strikes because the ground electric current has a higher risk to become through vital organs (meet the image beneath). According to a 2012 report, "in regions where lightning is prevalent, either seasonally or throughout the year, a considerable number of wild, convict, and tame animals are injured due to lightning-generated effects".
On the opposite, a little mouse, for case, has a very low take a chance of being hit or beingness hurt by a lightning strike.
Then, even an animal was not direct striking, the large altitude between their legs increases the voltage (and potentially the current) going through information technology. This might cause serious harm and fifty-fifty expiry.
Just, the nigh obvious danger, is, of class, giraffes are really tall, so when they are under a tree, and if the tree gets struck by lightning, there is a non-negligible chance that lighting could jump directly to their head. Or, even worse, if the animal's head was touching the tree when the tree got struck by lightning, it gets a partial lightning current due to impact potential.
And so yes, giraffes go struck by lightning more ofttimes than most other animals
Furthermore, some other danger for the giraffes is, they live in environments that have few and sparsely distributed tall trees and are topographically or geologically predisposed to attract lightning.
But, other big animals are vulnerable to lightning strikes too. Thousands of animals (not but giraffes) are injured or killed by lightning each yr. And there are many documented cases. For case:
- In 1972, Norma Jean, a circus elephant, was struck and killed by lightning in Illinois.
- In 2003, a six-year-former giraffe named Betsy was struck and killed by lightning at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom in Florida.
- In 2008, 52 cows are killed later on lightning hits a wire contend in Uruguay.
- In 2009, a lightning strike killed xvi bullocks which were sheltering from a storm in a field in East Lothian, Scotland.
- In Nov 2010, a South African giraffe named Hamley who lived on the Glen Afric reserve in South Africa was (apparently) struck by lightning and killed.
- In 2016, a lightning strike killed 323 reindeer in Norway.
- In 2020, lightning killed 2 giraffes in Southward Africa.
- In 2021, a lightning strike killed 18 elephants on a hilltop in Assam, Republic of india.
Sources
- Do giraffes get struck by lightning more frequently than other animals? on "Ask Scientific discipline" SubReddit
- Giraffe on Wikipedia
- Study: "Lightning safe of animals" on link.springer.com.
- Expiry by lightning for giraffes, elephants, sheep and cows on the Science Blogs website
- How exactly did lightning kill 323 reindeer in Norway? on The Verge
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I am a software developer, a former road racing cyclist, and a science enthusiast. Also an brute lover! I write about the planet Earth and science on this website, ourplnt.com. I besides take intendance of stray cats & dogs. Please consider supporting me on Patreon.
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