Posted on 06/23/2017 7:41:58 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Two months ago, Reddit user infernograve woke from a vivid dream. As wakefulness crept back, the dream did not recede, rather, it stuck in his mind, piquing his curiosity and prompting a burning question. He subsequently logged into Reddit's popular AskScience subreddit to share it:
"Do giraffes get struck by lightning more often than other animals?"
The question is now the most popular ever asked on the forum.
So do giraffes get struck by lightning at higher rates? Intuitively, the obvious answer is "yes." Standing between fourteen and nineteen feet tall when fully grown, giraffes tower above the savannah and open woodland landscapes where they dwell. Of course, lightning doesn't always strike the tallest object in an area, but taller objects are more susceptible due to the shorter gap between the object and the lightning's point of origin.
As zoologist Darren Naish learned when researching for a potential book, "Between 1996 and 1999, the Rhino and Lion Reserve near Krugersdorp, South Africa, had two of its three giraffes killed by lightning – the third animal (a juvenile) was also struck but survived."
There was also an incident in 2003 in which lightning struck and killed Betsy the giraffe at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida. At the time, it was the only fatality of the sort to ever occur in the park.
Anecdotes aside, there aren't really any concrete numbers on the subject. There is at least one pertinent published paper, however.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearscience.com ...
It is time to trade that pet giraffe for a pet snake.
not more often, just sooner.
I would think that ants would get struck by lightening more than other animals. Or some other animal that has a relatively large population.
I had a young chemist work for me about 30 years ago.
He loved golfing and during his first year he got struck by lightning on the golf course; he was out for 2 or 3 minutes but awoke none the worse for wear. The very next year, on the same gold course, he was struck by lightning again. He survived, but limped for a week or so where he got burned on his foot when his sneakers caught fire.
The year after that, he did not survive a jealous husband who caught him with his wife. He dies of lead poisoning.
True Story.
“Anecdotes aside, there aren’t really any concrete numbers on the subject. There is at least one pertinent published paper, however.”.......
Somehow I see a government grant forthcoming. How about studying “stupidity”, it would be a lifelong undertaking.
I wonder if James Comey qualifies as a giraffe?
Rat farts!!!
We have 24 head of cattle but none of them have been hit. And there is lots of lightening here in Florida during a thunderstorm.
But our only horse was struck dead two years ago right where he stood one night in a blinding rain and lightening storm.
The next day I had to call a guy who picks up dead animal carcasses from farms, dairies, etc. He had one other dead horse and three dead cows in his trailer already that morning from being struck by lightening the night before.
He told me it is not uncommon for him to have a busy day after a heavy lightening storm. He said it is fairly easy to tell they've been hit by lightening. It "explodes" their guts and they swell up like a hot-air balloon.
My wife and I thankful that none of our cows have been killed so far because the cows make us good money at auction. The horse, however, was a money pit, costing us money without a way to make money from it.
So fate has spared our money-makers so far.
Giraffes are selfish. But dogs, dogs are not.
I know of a 14 year old lad who headed from the truck patch to the house, with his hoe over his shoulder, when he saw a T storm brewing. Before he reached the house, lightning struck the hoe and killed the boy. FWIW.
Many dairy cows have died from lightning because when the rain starts, they congregate under any available trees. When lightning strikes the tree, many of the cows get zapped.....fatally.
Neighbor’s dog got electrocuted during a storm. Lightning struck a tree and jumped to a nearby chainlink fence that the dog was curled up next to.
Hehehe...good one!
 "I dodged, when I should have ducked." |
Giraffes are insincere.....
Just an aside, more cowboys were killed by lightening than gun fights, Injun attacks or drowning.
Tree-dwelling creatures probably die more often from lightning strikes, and I’ll bet the giraffes weren’t out in the open when struck and killed but rather under a tree. That’s where cattle get struck and die, under a tree. Instinctual, to find shelter, to get under something when a storm’s around. That, and to lie down. My grandparents regarded cows lying down as sort of predictive regarding short term weather. Thunderstorm in summer, snow in winter.
We get lots of lightning in the Colorado Rockies too. Hikers and climbers seem to get hit every year.
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