Lightning strike kills 323 wild reindeer in southern Norway

More than 320 wild reindeer have been found dead after a single lightning strike struck a mountain plateau in southern Norway, local officials say, making it deadliest lightning strike ever recorded.

Lightning strike kills 323 wild reindeer in southern Norway

This is absolutely insane!! I have a lot of trouble believing one lightning strike killed over 300 wild reindeer. Any other ideas from ATS members on what could have happened here or how one lightning strike did this much damage?

Saw it this morning.
It was said that they gathered because of the thunderstorm.
Then, the lightning hit this "bubble" of reindeer.

originally posted by: robbystarbuck

More than 320 wild reindeer have been found dead after a single lightning strike struck a mountain plateau in southern Norway, local officials say, making it deadliest lightning strike ever recorded.

Lightning strike kills 323 wild reindeer in southern Norway

This is absolutely insane!! I have a lot of trouble believing one lightning strike killed over 300 wild reindeer. Any other ideas from ATS members on what could have happened here or how one lightning strike did this much damage?

Maybe the ground was wet or they were on a glacier?

originally posted by: robbystarbuck

More than 320 wild reindeer have been found dead after a single lightning strike struck a mountain plateau in southern Norway, local officials say, making it deadliest lightning strike ever recorded.

Lightning strike kills 323 wild reindeer in southern Norway

This is absolutely insane!! I have a lot of trouble believing one lightning strike killed over 300 wild reindeer. Any other ideas from ATS members on what could have happened here or how one lightning strike did this much damage?

Herds will huddle for safety. Guess that didn't work out so well for this storm. Lighting probably traveled through all of them because they were to close together.

a reply to: robbystarbuck

They tend to gather in fairly tight herds when confronted with predators. I wonder if they pile up tight together during storms?
I have seen nearly thirty cattle die due to a single lightning strike during a summer storm when they were all under a large tree that was struck.

a reply to: robbystarbuck

All of the dead reindeer were found in a radius of just 50 meters (165 feet).

Perhaps there were quantities of conductive metals in the rocks/soil at their feet, which allowed the lightening to travel farther? Interesting story - at least it was probably painless (except for the 5 deer that they had to put down)

Interesting story!

a reply to: robbystarbuck

I remember seeing a video where a lightning struck a football (soccer) field, giving a huge shock to the players at the field goal to goal.

So yes, a well placed lightning strike could take out a heard of reindeer packed together.

Found the video...

a reply to: Mianeye

Thanks for the video that was unbelievable!

I wonder how huge long necked dinosaurs in open spaces fared in thunderstorms.

a reply to: UnBreakable

Interesting thought... Maybe you're onto something there.

Total carnage. You'd think They'd do something about this lightning menace. Or at least raise taxes on everybody while claiming to.

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
Total carnage. You'd think They'd do something about this lighting menace. Or at least raise taxes on everybody while claiming to.

Yeah.
Put some damn lightning rods on the tundra dangit.

I assume they won't just leave them there to rot, Will people be allowed to take them home? I mean.. As tragic as it is, No reason to let all those pelts and meat go to waste right?

a reply to: robbystarbuck

This must be devastating news for Norwegian dating agencies?

There goes Christmas.

a reply to: butcherguy

Nah, its gotta be Carbon Neutral (steel rods have carbon), but I'm sure Al Gore can still come up with a Zap & Trade program for the world to adopt.

originally posted by: Tjoran
I assume they won't just leave them there to rot, Will people be allowed to take them home? I mean.. As tragic as it is, No reason to let all those pelts and meat go to waste right?

Venison for dinner... again!

a reply to: robbystarbuck

I witnessed a lightning storm that was spitting out bolts every 5 seconds and made me nauseous while watching, probably was very close to being hit myself, and I read in the paper the next day that this storm killed over 30 beef cattle in a pasture about 5 miles away. Over 300 animals getting killed seems insane though.

323 Reindeer??

Those pesky Masons.....

Ground currents:

How did lightning kill all of those reindeer at once? Did they need to be touching for this to happen?

When animals or people are in groups, most are being killed by the ground current. First, there’s a direct strike — this is what most people think of when they think of lightning — that hits the tree or maybe the ground nearby. The energy then spreads along the ground surface, and if you’re anywhere near that lightning strike, you absorb it and get shocked.

Lightning goes up one leg and down another. Animals are more vulnerable because their legs are spread out more, so the ground currents travel more easily in their bodies. It doesn’t matter if they’re touching, or exactly how close they are, it matters that they were all in the area hit by lightning. Ground currents are the thing that’s responsible for the most lightning deaths and injuries in both people and animals.

How exactly did lightning kill 323 reindeer in Norway?