Oh, Deer: Freak Lightning Storm Kills Hundreds of Reindeer in One Fell Swoop

This may not bode well for Santa just four months before his big night.

More than 300 reindeer in Norway were killed instantaneously during a lightning storm this weekend according to the Norwegian Environment Agency.

According to the group, 323 total animals were left for dead after the storm moved through the Hardangervidda mountain plateau. Among them were 70 calves.

The staggering numbers admittedly are strange, according to a spokesman from the agency. Kjartan Knutsen said “We have not heard about such numbers before… “I don’t know if there were several lighting strikes, but it happened in one moment.”

ABC News indicates that the plateau is home to tens of thousands of reindeer, “the largest population of wild reindeer in Norway.” The agency released images of the animal carcasses laying out on the plateau.

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