Disturbing Flashes of Light Can Be Seen On Power Lines By Animals But Not Humans: Why Powerlines Disturb Animal Habitats — And Should Disturb You

Special lens filters reveal that some animals perceive the area at and/or around power
lines as a wild fireworks display. What does this suggest about the possible affects of
power lines on human health? (Screen capture from Youtube video)

By Steve Connor
Wild animals see overhead power cables in remote regions of the countryside as disturbing lines of flashing lights, which could explain why many species avoid electricity pylons to the point where their natural territories become seriously fragmented, scientists said.

A study of wild reindeer in Norway has shown that they can see overhead power lines in the dark because their eyes are sensitive to the flashes of ultraviolet light which are invisible to the human eye but are constantly being emitted by high-voltage electrical transmission, the researchers said.

How power lines appear to many animals.
If humans could see this they too would be terrified of the possible
health effects of power lines.

Many other species, from birds in the Arctic to elephants in Africa, can also see ultraviolet radiation which may explain why different kinds of animals in widely varying habitats all tend to avoid overhead power lines even though they are considered to be inert and invisible to wildlife, they said.

The adult human eye can only see wavelengths of light down to the blue-violet end of the visible spectrum but other animals are able to see well into the ultraviolet range.

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