Tragic news from Norway: over 300 reindeer — 323 to be exact — perished after a lightning bolt (or bolts, it’s not yet clear) struck them during a storm. This is the first time that such a death has been recorded on such a large scale.
According to Yahoo News, the reindeer were found on Hardangervidda plateau, a national park where more than 10,000 deer live freely. At least 70 of the reindeer have been identified as calves. Five of the reindeer were still alive when they were discovered and had to be euthanized due to injuries that would have been impossible to recover from.
Photos emerge from Norway where a single lightning strike has killed at least 323 reindeer https://t.co/L0I6CAOQbo pic.twitter.com/Xbmpwper37
— BNO News (@BNONews) August 28, 2016
The massive death toll had to do with the fact that reindeer are social animals and travel in packs for safety. When a storm hit the area the reindeer were occupying on Friday, the animals clung close to each other. So when a lightning bolt hit the area, all the reindeer were affected.
The biggest concern now is what to do with the deer. “We’re going to decide soon whether to let nature run its own course or whether we will do something,” an official told AFP.
In conclusion, 2016 is weird and kinda sh*tty.