Terrifying moment wildlife expert is struck by lightning while wading thigh-deep through the Florida Everglades for a promotional video
This is the terrifying moment an American wildlife expert is ‘struck by lightning’ in the Florida Everglades.
Forrest Galante, 35, was shooting a promo for his YouTube channel in Everglades City last week when thunder rumbled and lightning struck.
He says, “Being here in a place like this, in a remote swamp, with thunderstorms brewing and alligators cruising about, there are a few things I absolutely cannot live without.”
He says he can’t live without his GPS, just as a huge orange bolt of lightning crashes through the trees behind him.
Galante ducks and then rushes out of the water and says, “I’ve been hit.” The cameraman also jumps back and takes images of the Everglades after the strike.
As Galante continues to say that he can’t live without his GPS, he gestures to his watch and is viciously interrupted by a huge orange bolt of lightning that crashes through the trees behind him and reflects off the water.
Galante jumps and dives in the blink of an eye just before rushing out of the water and saying, “I’m hit,” as the cameraman also jumps back and blurred images of the Everglades take over the footage.
‘I felt it. Yes, I got hit. That hurt, yeah, it just hurt,” Galante tells his crew.
As the camera looks at the sandy ground full of rubble, the wildlife expert says, “I’m fine,” while the others with him wonder if it was all captured on video.
On the same day, Galante, host of Discovery Chanel, wildlife biologist and author, sat down and posted a video on his YouTube and explains the incident.
‘Wow, what a day. So today should be an easy day. We’re here in South Florida to film a bunch of different content, and one of the things we wanted to do today was get out into the swamp area and film some content for Garmin,” Galante said.
Garmin creates innovative GPS technology for the sports and fitness, outdoor, automotive and aviation markets.
He admits that the weather started to take a dark turn towards the end of the day, when it started to rain and he heard a clap of thunder in the distance.
“You know, it’s Florida. It is raining here. There’s lightning and thunder all the time,” Galante said.
He then says that Mitch, a member of his crew, had doubts about staying out in the elements as the weather continued to intensify.
As the video pans to Mitch, Galante says, “Mitch says, ‘I don’t think so man, like that bugger is pretty serious.’ You know, Mitch lives here in Florida and I live in Southern California where it never rains.”
The same day, Galante sat down and posted a video to his YouTube explaining what happened
Mitch, a member of Galante’s crew, didn’t think going into the water during a storm was the right move, but Galante nonchalantly brushed him off and did it anyway.
He then says his response at the time was, “Shut up Mitch, everything’s fine,” as he admits that’s always been their working dynamic.
Galante says he didn’t see the lightning bolt since he looked at the camera, but he did feel his legs and buttocks seize up because he was “paralyzed for a split second.”
‘It wasn’t until I saw the footage again that I realized that a bolt of lightning had just struck 4.5 meters behind me, shooting up through the superconducting water up my legs, into my waist, into my heart and actually into my mouth. Galante said.
He adds that Mitch also felt the electric current running through him, as he only had one foot in the water and fell backwards after it hit.
“It hurt my chest more than anything,” Mitch says. He also adds that after the strike he immediately had an aluminum taste in his mouth.
Galante is a Discovery Channel host, six-time world record spearfisherman, wildlife biologist and author
At the time of the strike, Galante was filming a promotional video for Garmin, showcasing its new Epix Pro GPS watch
Galante said he didn’t see the flash of lightning since he looked at the camera, but he did feel his legs and buttocks seize up because he was “paralyzed for a split second.”
According to National Geographic: ‘Lightning is extremely hot; a flash can heat the air around it to temperatures five times higher than the surface of the sun.”
Water is a conductor for lighting because most electrical discharges occur on the surface of the water.
It is common knowledge that fish and boats are affected by lightning strikes in the water, but fish are safer than people in the water, and boats can be equipped with lightning rods.
Lightning rods keep the lightning bolt from hitting the ship and instead direct it toward the water.
BBC news reported that NASA research “shows that lightning is more likely to strike land than sea, and strikes are rare in deep-sea areas. Waters just off the coast are affected more often.’