Question

Why don't squirrels or birds get electrocuted when they touch electric wires like humans do?

Answer 1

B/c the current runs through them since both limbs are touching the wire.. . If a squirrel or bird was touching the ground with one foot and the wire with the other foot, they would get electricuted as well.

Answer 2

they arent completing the curcuit by touching earth. if u fell onto a wire ud b fine until u touched earth then zzzz't!

Answer 3

Correct - you need to touch two separate wires, or a wire and the ground, to make a complete circuit - when this happens, the electricity runs through the circuit, including your body, and you're electrocuted. But if you just touch one wire, as squirrels and birds do when they run/sit on the single wire, they're not earthing the electricity, not making a complete circuit, and so are not harmed. This works in exactly the same way for all animals, whether human or non-human - squirrels, birds, cats, humans, it works the same for all of us.

Answer 4

I think it is because they rarely make a complete circuit. (ie touching two wires at once or metal and the wire at the same time.) Humans can touch electrical wires safely if they know how. I wouldn't recommend trying it.

Answer 5

When they stand, they are touching nothing but wire. The electricity wants to take the easiest path, which is the wire. We are touching the ground, where the electricity wants to be.

Answer 6

you best believe squirrels and birds are not immune...i seen plenty touch the wrong wire and make the fourth of july come early ...get me?

Answer 7

They do get electrcuted if they touch. something else at the same time-. you just don't often see the little dead. bodies that drop off into the grass.. . If you're touching your friend, you. can touch the fence and shock the other person,. if they are touching someone it shocks the third person- you can have ten people in a line and if the first touches the fence, the tenth gets shocked.

Answer 8

For electricity to pass there has to be path to flow.. When we touch live wire the current passes through the body to the ground. So we get electricuted.. At the same time a squirrel or a bird is only holding the wire but he path for the flow is not complete. That is, it is not touching the ground or a neutral line. So nothing happens. But sometimes they do get electricuted when accidentally their wings or body part stretch wide enough to touch the neutral line to make a path for current flow.

Answer 9

To get electricuted you have to be touching the wire & earth. I dont know about squirrels as we dont have them in Australia but when birds sit on the wire they are not touching earth.