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East Idaho Lightning Storm Fells Fowl In Freak Accident

Mick Thompson
/
Flickr

A weekend storm is the suspected culprit behind a bizarre incident that saw more than 50 geese fall from the sky – dead.

A powerful storm that produced lightning, golf ball-size hail and even spawned a tornado in Bingham County pummeled the Idaho Falls area Saturday.

Amid pounding rain and blinding flashes, something bigger and heavier started plummeting to the ground. East Idaho News reports more than 50 lifeless geese came crashing down out of the sky. All of the birds fell from above at the same time and landed in the same general area.

Idaho Fish & Game officer Jacob Berl thinks the uniformity of the deaths suggests the birds were struck by lightning. Berl says he picked up 48 snow geese and three ross geese. More were on nearby roofs.

According to Berl, some of the fowl had their stomachs blown open, but the majority of the animals were unmarked.

While events like this are incredibly odd, they’re not unprecedented. Lightning storms around the world have been known to fell birds.

For more local news, follow the KBSX newsroom on Twitter @KBSX915

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