Are Giraffes More Likely to Be Struck by Lightning Than Other Animals?

[Fam Times reporter Lee Kyung-han] Infernograve, a user of the website Reddit, recently drew attention by posting the question, “Are giraffes struck by lightning more often than other animals?”

Research has found that tall animals and objects, such as giraffes, are more likely to be struck by lightning because the distance between them and the lightning’s point of origin is shorter.

Zoologist Darren Naish said that during his research, “Two out of three giraffes near Krugersdorp, South Africa, were struck by lightning and killed.”

Bestie, a giraffe at Disneyland in Florida, United States, was also struck by lightning and killed in 2003.

Meanwhile, Chandima Gomes, an electrical engineer and lightning-safety expert at Universiti Putra Malaysia, said, “Animals with a large distance between their front and hind feet are vulnerable to lightning strikes nearby because of the difference in electrical potential between their front and hind feet.”

In animals such as giraffes, a dangerous electrical current can pass through vital organs. Tall animals such as elephants and giraffes can fall victim to damage from nearby lightning strikes.

After lightning strikes a tree, it may jump to the head of a nearby animal, or if an animal is in direct contact with the tree, the lethal current can take its life.

Although lightning strikes themselves are uncommon, he said giraffes do in fact face a greater risk of being struck by lightning than other animals.

Reporter Lee Kyung-han, fam1@pcss.co.kr