October 26, 2008: Electric Fence
 

http://cellar.org/2008/Cows.jpg

52 cows were simultaneously killed last Wednesday in a small village near San Jose, Uruguay, when lightning struck the metal fence they were leaning against. Apparently it is common behavior for these and other farm animals to scatter to the perimeter of the field during thunderstorms. Veterinarians confirmed that each of the 52 cows was electrocuted.

That's shocking.

I've also seen pictures like this with horses. Critters will gather under trees, too, which is a really bad idea. Really sad. :(

I agree. Udderly shocking.

They should have moo-ved away.

That's sad, all of them pasturing away like that..



MAW!! Fetch me my bar bee Q sauce.

People, I herd that we've already done the electricity puns. Please steer away from them.


Just imagine for a moment that you drove down that road and didn't know about the lightning, and didn't know what had killed the cows. Windows down? or up?

Wow. Like Zen says, what if you didn't know - I certainly wouldn't have guessed.

In fact I'd be looking for the cow equivilant of KoolAid.

Wow. A real field day for that rare person into both bestiality and necrophilia!

I blame the parents. These cows would never have died if they hadn't been grounded.

I understand that in a fence like this, a strong current can be induced during an electrical storm, even if the fence itself isn't struck. When lightning strikes even a few hundred feet away from the fence, it radiates an electromagnetic field, and as that field passes by the fence, a current is induced in the fence wire. The stronger and closer the lightning strike is to the fence, the stronger the current.

This is exactly the same principle an electric generator uses, only a generator uses magnets for a field source instead of a lightning bolt.

Jackpot!!! Giggity-giggity-moo!!


:lol2:

I wonder if they were medium or well done?

This is an especially tragic scene because the grass is actually greener on their side of the fence... for all the good it did them. :(

Not as unusual as you'd imagine ..
 

That number has gotta be some kind of record. I recall a number of years ago, that a farmer situated in the high country (Tablelands) of North-Western, New South Wales (the state in which Sydney is the capital), lost 45 cattle to one lightning strike.
He had previously lost another sizeable number of cattle (about 30, I think) some 10-15 years before.
The Tablelands region has areas that record enormous numbers of lightning strikes, in comparison to other areas, and it's all to do with elevation and topography, that assists thunderstorm buildup.

The number of horses struck by lightning is sizeable, too - both when being ridden, and in older times when working the fields.
If thunderstorms are close, and you're riding a horse, it's advisable to dismount and reduce your profile to lower your chances of being struck.