Flying deer kills power in Montana.

It looks like one of Santa's reindeer got lost and ended up fried on a power line somewhere in Montana. I wonder what he was doing this far South this time of year.

'Deer with wings' causes power outage in Montana

A Montana resident says an energy company has identified the cause of a brief power outage as "deer with wings."

Lee Bridges says she was outside with her dogs around the time the power went out when a NorthWestern Energy truck pulled up, giving her a chance to ask the driver what caused the problem.

She says he pointed up and said, "Apparently, we've got deer with wings."

Bridges suspects that an eagle dropped its prey and couldn't retrieve it.

PMSNBC


They think an eagle dropped it there. Can an eagle even lift something that big?

I think they're just trying to cover up for the kiddies so they don't cry when they learn old Blitzen got fried and they might not have enough reindeer to deliver the presents next Christmas.

yeah weird stuff happens, maybe hit by a car?

strange things end up in those powerlines.

reply to post by FortAnthem


I can not see the animal that well in the picture but it looks more like a jackrabbit to me. I believe an eagle went hungry that day.

Originally posted by FortAnthem


Can an eagle even lift something that big?

I don't think it's really that big. It's probably a fawn. I would say a full grown Eagle could pick this up but it looks like not for far.

Eagles can lift deer/coyotes/goats/sheep , as long as they are not on the larger side. Just youtube some eagles preying on any of these. Its amazing.

I have heard of large birds being able to lift at least 30 pounds. So it seems very reasonable based on the size that a bird could have caught dinner, dropped it, and been like i am not getting electrocuted for Bambi.

eagles in MT dont mess around they cook their meat.

reply to post by -W1LL


OK. Time to tell the truth the above disinformation agents did skirted around.
It as a deer abduction gone bad.
Now you have it.

Looks like he was playing Halo Reach multiplayer online and glitched himself a "Fail of the week" which you'll see on achievementhunter.com any time soon.

unbelievable for that.

They should call in the FAA, its obvious the deer had no pilots license

reply to post by FortAnthem


Yeah, pretty sure it was a bird of prey. They often have bigger eyes than talons and this is the result. It's also a widely known fact that eagles drop tied tennis shoes on lines for kicks.

CJ

Originally posted by ColoradoJens
It's also a widely known fact that eagles drop tied tennis shoes on lines for kicks.

CJ

So that's how they get up there.

I guess that urban legend about graduating high school kids is a load of bunk then.

reply to post by FortAnthem


There are teenage eagles too you know...


CJ

I doubt very seriously if an eagle knocked the deer off a mountain onto the power lines, so I looked up lifting abilities...

"A bald eagle's lifting power is about 4 pounds. They do not generally feed on chickens or other domestic livestock, but they will make use of available food sources."
www.baldeagleinfo.com...

"Under ideal conditions, an eagle can lift about 50% of its body weight."
birdsinbackyards.net...

An eagle's average weight is ten to fourteen pounds.
The biggest Golden Eagle ever was 18.5 pounds.
So the fawn would have had to weigh nine pounds max.
It looks bigger than that.

I'm going with a Thunderbird.

Something doesn't seem right here....Unless I am missing something, the deer would have had to cross 2 power lines or touch ground and the hot leg wire in order for the electricity to pass through him, short circuit the power, and shut down electricity.Otherwise birds sitting on a wire, squirrels running across the wire,etc. would be fried all the time. I'm also questioning the power pole!! Is this a power pole in America? I believe that has to be the smallest power pole I have ever seen. But I guess other states can have different standards than California.

peace
DonAwesome

Note: - I was just looking at the hind legs to front legs ratio. Could this be a kangaroo?

Originally posted by donawesome
Something doesn't seem right here....Unless I am missing something, the deer would have had to cross 2 power lines or touch ground and the hot leg wire in order for the electricity to pass through him, short circuit the power, and shut down electricity. I believe that has to be the smallest power pole I have ever seen. But I guess other states can have different standards than California.

I'm thinking the weight of the deer may have damaged the lines when it hit them and knocked out a phase. If it had gone phase to phase, I would expect it to look a lot crispier (although maybe most of the cooking happened on the inside).

I'm thinking the poles in the pic were used by the linesmen to hold the power lines steady and knock the deer off the power line. They look like the highly insulated poles used by the power companies. The actual poles that hold up the power lines are probably not shown in the picture.

reply to post by FortAnthem


Please report if you feel necessary, but get your butt over to some other good stuff going on @ATS, FT Anthem.
Havent seen you much and you add merriment!

CJ

if a bird lands on a power cable.
it will not die!!! or make a hic up in the power.
it would need to be earthed.
so the dear would not make the power go out?
you have to touch both cables!
very odd.