--- ---  # A Bolt of Lightning Has Killed 323 Reindeer in Norway by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Aug 29, 2016 11:59 AM UTC  Some 323 dead wild reindeers struck by lightning are seen littering a hill side on Hardangervidda mountain plateau in central Norway on Aug. 27, 2016. Some 323 dead wild reindeers struck by lightning are seen littering a hill side on Hardangervidda mountain plateau in central Norway on Aug. 27, 2016.Haavard Kjontvedt— Norwegian Enviroment Agency/AFP/Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Aug 29, 2016 11:59 AM UTC A single lightning strike is believed to have killed more than 300 reindeer in Norway. A total of 323 reindeer were found dead in the southern part of Norway on the Hardangervidda plateau, a press release from the [Norwegian Environment Agency](http://www.miljodirektoratet.no/no/Nyheter/Nyheter/2016/August-2016/322-villrein-drept-av-lynet/) said. Among the 323 killed were 70 calves. An official from the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate discovered their carcasses during a routine inspection on Friday. Officials said they believe the herd of reindeer was killed by lightning strike as they huddled together during a heavy thunderstorm. Of the 323 reindeer killed, five had to be euthanized because of their injuries. Lightning Strike Kills More than 300 Reindeer in Norway ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4470432/lightning-strike-norway-reindeer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4470432/lightning-strike-norway-reindeer/"},"headline":"A Bolt of Lightning Has Killed 323 Reindeer in Norway","datePublished":"2016-08-29T11:59:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:15:03.083Z","description":"70 of the killed reindeer were calves","url":"https://time.com/4470432/lightning-strike-norway-reindeer/","keywords":["animals","norway"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8725a0b803652368/6988a3f5524fc0547bdf94f1/norway-lightning-reindeer-death.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8725a0b803652368/6988a3f5524fc0547bdf94f1/norway-lightning-reindeer-death.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NORWAY-ANIMALS-WEATHER","caption":"Some 323 dead wild reindeers struck by lightning are seen littering a hill side on Hardangervidda mountain plateau in central Norway on Aug. 27, 2016.","creditText":"Haavard Kjontvedt— Norwegian Enviroment Agency/AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4470432/lightning-strike-norway-reindeer/","name":"A Bolt of Lightning Has Killed 323 Reindeer in Norway"}}]}] ```