The incident occurred in the US state of South Dakota.
Moody County Sheriff's Police have posted a message and photo on their Facebook account, illustrating the fatal damage that a lightning strike can cause.
The incident occurred in the McCook County area, with the accompanying Facebook status reading:
"There is 21 head of cattle that were around this metal bale feeder when it was hit with one bolt of lightning and it killed them all. That is about $45,000 worth of loss."
The law enforcers were quick to warn people about the inherent dangers that the summer weather will bring:
"As the severe weather starts to roll in this summer please keep this in mind. If you start to see lightning and hear thunder you need to get out of the open. Off of the Lakes, off of the Golf Course etc so that you are safe."
Take a look...
