Local residents of Southern Georgia were left shocked after they found around 550 dead sheep on a mountain pasture.
Nikolay Levanon, a sheep owner, said that the sheep were hit by a single lightning strike while they were grazing on a mountain pasture.
He said that he received a call from his sheepherder that more than hundreds of their sheep had been killed.
Nikolay said he had no clue that 400 other sheep were also killed by the same strike.
The good thing is that some of the sheep that Nikolay owned were just knocked out unconscious and were brought to a medical center nearby, where they received treatment.
Nikolay has estimated that around 550 sheep were killed by the single lightning strike.
Right now, the farmers are appealing to the Georgian authorities for financial assistance to help with their mass losses.
Alexander Mikeladze, the deputy mayor of Ninotsminda, said:
To be honest, this is the first such case. We have not heard that a thunderstorm could kill so many sheep. Of course, the mayor’s office will provide support, but first, the farmer himself must bring the opinion of experts in order to accurately determine the cause of the mass death.
On August 12, 2021, Nikolay said that the sheep were burned right on the site because they could not bring them back on the ground because of the mountainous terrain.
It is still unclear if the local government compensated them in any way.