Employees of the Hardangervidda National Park in Norway over the weekend have a terrible sight: Hardangervidda rocky plateau was dotted with hundreds of corpses of deer.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, August 26. More than 323 deer died as a result of a powerful lightning strike in northern Norway.
It is assumed that the animals are frightened from a fright, which is why lightning struck them all at once. Warning: it is especially impressive to refrain from viewing pictures.
Animals were found within a radius of 50 meters.
Specialists note that this is truly a unique case: "We heard that animals die from a lightning strike, but we do not recall that lightning ever killed animals in such quantities."
Earlier, the most massive death of animals was recorded in Australia in 2005, when a lightning strike killed 68 cows.
The exact cause of death of animals will be established after that as their remains are examined in the veterinary institute.
The ways of nature are inscrutable! Yeah, sorry for the animals. It is known that among the 323 deer there were about 70 young. Their death is a tragedy not only for Norway but for the whole planet. Share with us your opinion on this in the comments.
Mass induced hysteria?Herd animals have an empathy for their collective herd members.
However, maybe there is another explanation. A few years ago my family and I were standing on the top deck of a cruise liner while a spectacular electrical storm was raging in the near distance. Yeah, stupid I know but we were fascinated and totally mesmerised by it. Our hair stood up on end (two of us have long hair, and it just stood right up drawn by the static in the air). We all felt recharged and full of energy whereas earlier we were feeling tired, and this was a pre-bedtime stroll. Our hearts raced, we tingled all over and we felt invincible, it was so strange. I will never forget it.
Now this storm was still a distance away. Imagine this directly above a large herd of deer. It would affect the heart rate of the deer, statically charge them simultaneously and panic would also set in....the fear would paralyze them and perhaps a massive heart attack.
Also, when lightning strikes the ground there is a huge current pulsing through the ground and can also streak up the animals legs . That's my theory anyway.