50 Rare Bird Species Killed by Lightening in UAE

50 rare species of birds worth over 20 million dirhams ($5 million) were killed, when a farm in Abu Dhabi was hit by lightning. Many of the birds had won many awards and trophies in various competitions and which are priceless.

On Sunday morning, the lightning thunderbolt that hit a barn in Al Dhafra has killed 50 rare birds and caused total financial losses of Dh20 million, according to the barn’s owner Khalfan Bin Butti Al Qubaisi.

According to the initial reports, it was said that there were 35 rare falcon chicks that had been killed in the lightning strike, which cost around 1.1 million dirhams. Later the owner of the farm has since gone on record to correct the figures and said the birds were priceless and were trained to compete in high-level falconry tournaments.

One of the killed birds was worth more than 10 million dirhams as it was a famous competition winner and therefore valued in excess of Dh10 million alone. The Barn’s owner Khalfan Bin Butti Al Qubaisi, said, “The thunderbolt was very strong and burned everything. The bird nests and building became a pile of ashes and the birds were roasted in the painful incident.”

The avifauna or bird species recorded in the United Arab Emirates include a total of 458 species, of which humans have introduced fourteen and 157 are considered rare or accidental. Ten of the bird species are threatened across the world.

As the rare species of birds have died of natural causes, so no police action is taken, but better protection of the birds is advised by all quarters of law and administration.