Lightning rhinoceros photography

According to foreign media reports, two months ago, a Reddit forum user was inspired by a dream and asked a question on the forum: "Is giraffe more vulnerable to lightning than other animals?" This issue has received unprecedented enthusiastic attention. So, are giraffes more vulnerable to lightning? Our first reaction was "yes". Adult giraffes can reach 14 to 19 feet (about 4.26 to 5.8 meters) in height and live in savanna and open woodland. Although lightning doesn't always hit the tallest object at the scene, the probability of being hit is higher, because taller objects are closer to the starting point of lightning. Darren Naish, a zoologist, learned: "Between 1996 and 1999, there were three giraffes in Krugstorp rhinoceros and lion reserve in South Africa, two of whom were killed by lightning, and the other was just a young giraffe, who survived despite being struck by lightning." In 2003, another accident happened. A flash of lightning struck a giraffe named Betsy in the animal kingdom of Disneyland in Florida, killing her. At that time, it was the only casualty accident in the amusement park. Aside from these anecdotes, this problem still lacks data support. However, researchers have published at least one related paper. 20 1 1 year, Chandima Gomes, an electrical engineer at the University of Botra, Malaysia, wrote a paper about animals being struck by lightning. He pointed out that "animals with a long distance between their front and rear feet are more likely to be injured by lightning, because when lightning occurs nearby, there will be a potential difference between their front and rear feet." When it happens to animals like giraffes, dangerous current will flow through their key organs. Gomez also wrote that tall animals such as elephants and giraffes are vulnerable to lightning side conduction attacks. Lightning bounces off a nearby tree and then hits the animal's head. If an animal is in direct contact with a tree struck by lightning, it may be injured by "contact potential", and a deadly current will be transmitted to the animal through the branches. Gomez's explanation has a solid theoretical foundation, but without data support, it is difficult to determine whether this means that giraffes are more vulnerable to lightning than other animals. Giraffes may be more vulnerable to lightning strikes, but because lightning strikes are rare, even if the probability of being hit is slightly higher, it will not cause a large number of giraffes to die.