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Associated Press

More than 300 wild reindeer have been killed by lightning in central Norway.
The Norwegian Environment Agency has released eerie images showing a jumble of reindeer carcasses scattered across a small area on the Hardangervidda mountain plateau. The agency says 323 animals were killed, including 70 calves, in the lightning storm Friday.

Agency spokesman Kjartan Knutsen said it is not uncommon for reindeer or other wildlife to be killed by lightning strikes but this was an unusually deadly event.
“We have not heard about such numbers before,” he said Monday.
He said reindeer tend to stay very close to each other in bad weather, which could explain how so many were killed at once.

“I don’t know if there were several lighting strikes,” he said. “But it happened in one moment.”
Knutsen said the agency is now discussing what to do with the dead animals. Normally, they are just left where they are to let nature take its course, he said.
Thousands of reindeer migrate across the barren Hardanangervidda plateau as the seasons change.


Lightning strike kills more than 300 reindeer in Norway

Hundreds of dead reindeer struck by lightning are seen littering a hill side on Hardangervidda mountain plateau in central Norway. Photo: AFP

Some 323 dead wild reindeers struck by lightning are seen littering a hill side on Hardangervidda mountain plateau in central Norway on Saturday August 27, 2016. The unusually high death toll was put down to the lightning strike and the fact that reindeers often stand close to each other. The Hardangervidda plateau, a large portion of which forms a national park, is a popular destination for outdoor activities and is home to an estimated 10,000 wild reindeers according the Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre. / AFP PHOTO / HO picture made available by the Norwegian Environment Agency / Haavard Kjontvedt / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Norwegian Enviroment Agency / Haavard Kjontvedt" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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The unusually high death toll was put down to the fact that reindeer herd together so closely


Lightning strike kills more than 300 reindeer in Norway

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The unusually high death toll was put down to the fact that reindeer herd together so closely

The unusually high death toll was put down to the fact that reindeer herd together so closely