Queensland farmer discovers six of his cows dead in lightning strike

A Queensland farmer has shared eerie photos of six cows lying in a single line after they were struck by lightning.

Derek Shirley found four of his cows and two calves lying dead on their Beaudesert property just days after a severe thunderstorm hit south-east Queensland, news.com.au reports.

"There was just a storm, it was a pretty severe storm, there were a few cracks of lightning and thunder and then there was one particularly loud one and that's all we heard," he told the ABC.

"The strike has actually thrown them into the fence, like some of them were through the wires."

He said the cows had an estimated worth of $10,000.

It's believed the lightning's sheer force would have caused multiple heart attacks.

It's not the first time an incident like this has taken place. Last year, a Queensland dairy farmer was left in shock after six of his cows were killed by a lightning strike in Malanda.

The four Illawarra and two Holstein cows were found within about five metres of each other, according to the Cairns Post.

In 2016, four cows were fatally struck in their Gippsland paddock, while they were huddled together one night.