Lightning kills two giraffes at park

Two Lion Country Safari giraffes killed last month are the latest casualties of death by lightning, a natural occurrence that strikes zoos, cattle and wildlife, sometimes an entire herd at a time.

“It’s just this tragic and really random act of nature,” said Haley Passeser, spokeswoman for the drive-through safari in Loxahatchee. “The only good thing is that it was instantaneous.”

Two zoo workers discovered Lily and Jioni down in their pasture after a severe and fast-moving evening storm rolled in on May 3, she said.

A necropsy confirmed that lightning was the cause of death for both animals, Passeser said.

Lily, 10, and Jioni, 1, were not related but both were born and raised at the park. Their deaths bring the park’s giraffe herd down to 18, she said.

“Staff and animal safety are of the utmost importance, and while this is a tragic and aberrant incident, the park is continually reviewing safety and crisis protocols,” Passeser said.

It is not unheard of for zoo animals, cattle or wildlife, sometimes even an entire herd, to die by lightning strike.

Betsy, a 6-year-old giraffe, died in 2003 when she was struck at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista.

Tall and gangly, they seem like sure lightning rods, but there’s no proof that giraffes are more prone to lightning strikes than other wildlife.

Ron Magill, spokesman for Zoo Miami, remembers an incident involving a tapir.

“Over 20 years ago, we lost a Malayan tapir to a lightning strike,” he said. “So unfortunately, we too have experienced this type of loss.”

Incidents worldwide are numerous. In 2016, a herd of more than 300 reindeer were found dead in a national park in Norway, National Geographic reported.

Officials believe the herd was huddled together during a thunderstorm and the animals were lightning.

Also in 2016, nearly 20 cows in East Texas were killed when they took shelter under a tree during a storm.

Lightning struck the tree and the cows just fell, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In 2005, 68 cows died after a lightning strike in New South Wales, Australia. And a few years later, lightning struck wire fencing in Montevideo, Uruguay, killing 52 of the cattle inside. During a 1990 thunderstorm, 30 cows were killed on a farm in Virginia.

Information from WPEC CBS12, a partner of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, was used in this report. killed by