Lightning Storm and Animals

[Cookiely]

I experienced the worst lightning storm of my life this week. I used to crawl under my bed when I was young during storms. I love them now but very respectful. I hope never to be that close again to bolts of lightning striking the ground. My hands are still a bit shaky. Normally we have five or six squirrels in the yard and about 12 birds that regularly come to our yard everyday. My mother has been feeding the birds. Since the storm I haven't seen one squirrel or a bird. There is food on the ground which normally gets eaten in a half hour and its been their for several days. Could they have been killed?

[Skywatch_NC]

Lightning has been known to kill a group of cows huddled around or near a tree which has been struck for ie.

...so anything's possible

[Stephanie]

Gee, if the lightning was that close to your home when striking the ground, then it is a possibility I guess. There will be others that come.

We feed our squirrels unsalted peanuts plus the bird seed that I put out.

[tropicana]

Yeah, that is sad if the animals were killed by those lightning strikes.

Just this week in a town north of Toronto, another sad lightning event:-

At least 30 animals were killed in a midnight fire, sparked by lightning, that engulfed a century old farmhouse run by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals just west of Midland ON on Wednesday night.
The fire was one of many incidents that took place as severe and violent thunderstorms and rapid winds roared through Ontario, knocking down trees and severing power lines. There were no reports of human fatalities in the storms, but numerous power outages blacked out a large chunk of Ontario.
In the Midland area fire, more than 30 cats, rabbits and other small creatures perished in the animal shelter blaze.
However, 27 animals---cats, puppies and adult dogs--survived, though they were terrified, after they were rescued and were taken to Midland Heritage Hospital.

-justin-

[Stephanie]

That's a sad story Justin!

[Cookiely]

I haven't seen any squirrels again today, but I did see a couple of birds, but they weren't my usual ones. Maybe they just got scared and will come back in a few more days.

[azsnowman]

It's very possible I'd say, as Stephanie said, with the lightning hitting the ground and at very short intervals as you said it's VERY possible! I've heard stories (true or not I don't know) that lightning does travel through the ground and can surface elsewhere! Anyone know if that's true or not?

[GrimReaper]

AZ- On a farm not far from mine, two horses were killed that were standing close to a tree during a severe lightning storm. The owner, a friend of mine came over and told me how horrible it was... she could smell the burning hair on her horses. I always put my horses in the barn during a t-storm...because I know they will shelter under the trees. However during the hurricanes, they were left outside to their own devices...leaving them in a barn is way more dangerous!!