Do giraffes make good targets for lightning?
Giraffes and other ungulates usually succumb to lightning strikes because of a phenomenon known as “step potential”. A nearby strike raises the ground’s electric potential at the point of strike, while some distance away the potential is normal. This creates a potential gradient between the strike point and the areas with normal potential that surround the strike point. If an animal, or human, is standing nearby with one foot closer to the strike centre, this foot will be at a higher potential than the other foot. This potential difference causes current to flow between the two legs, which can stop the heart. Ungulates, having a greater distance between their feet, are subject to a higher step potential and thus a higher current flow. Even worse, during storms animals tend to huddle together, which creates even longer step potential loops. In such circumstances, one strike can kill many animals. This happened to a small group of elephants in the Kruger National Park in South Africa, wh
