Are giraffes prone to getting struck by lightening? Data is thin on the ground, says Stuart Blackman but there has been cases

By

Published: Friday, 06 September 2024 at 10:59 AM


It stands to reason that giraffes, like trees and church steeples, would attract more than their fair share of lightning strikes. Data, though, is thin on the ground.

At least four captive giraffes have been killed by lightning in the past couple of decades, and a rare account published in the scientific literature describes the deaths of two giraffes on a reserve in South Africa.

One was struck directly on the head, shattering the skull; the other probably died from the same strike as the electrical charge dissipated through the ground.

Significantly, both animals were taller than the surrounding vegetation, and intriguingly, both carcasses gave off a strong, ammonia-like smell and were ignored by scavengers, a phenomenon that has been reported for other animals killed by lightning.

In the scheme of things, lightning strikes are probably rare enough that the risk to an individual giraffe is negligible. Even so, it’s probably best not to shelter beneath one in a thunderstorm.

More fascinating giraffe facts