Syllabus Section: Environment

Why in News?

Recently, 18 elephants died on a hilltop in Assam. The preliminary post-mortem report indicates they had been struck by lightning.

About:

How does lightning kill animals?

Lightning may injure or kill animals in a number of ways. Some of these ways are:

DIRECT FLASH: An animal in an open field may be struck directly by lightning if part of its body protrudes over other objects in the vicinity. Taller animals are more vulnerable.

SIDE FLASH: When lightning strikes a tall object such as a tree, it may generate a side flash that can strike an animal standing underneath the tree

 

 

 

• According to a member of the team that conducted the post-mortem, it is possible that the elephants were killed by current flowing through the ground. That would be ‘step potential’
• Since an elephant’s front and hind feet are wide apart, it would appear to make it more vulnerable than a smaller animal, such as a rat.

Are multiple animal deaths such as these common?

• In 2007, five elephants were killed in a similar incident in Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal.
• In 2016, over 300 reindeer were killed on Norway’s Hardangervidda plateau following thunderstorms.
• In 1972, 53 reindeer were killed in a lightning strike in Alaska.

Source: Indian Express