A FREAK natural occurrence is how stock squad police have described the death of 27 head of cattle struck by lightning on a property at Tully in Queensland.
No bullets were found when Mareeba Stock Squad police inspected fly-infested carcasses on the Ranch Rd farm last week – but a stand of dead trees alongside the bones told a story, cairns.com.au reports.
Det Sgt Mark Kerswell said lightning had probably struck the tree or the wet ground near the cattle, travelling through either conductor and killing the animals instantly.
"It’s the first time I’ve seen it but we know of incidents in other places all over the world including one in NSW where 63 head of cattle died under a tree," he said.
Police used a metal detector to scan the area yesterday, and studied bones at the Munro Plains site to see if they had been splintered by a bullet.
Det Sgt Kerswell said poisoning had also been ruled out.
"They wouldn’t all be in the same spot, and there are no signs of dead scavenger animals," he said.
The cattle’s value is estimated at $20,000.
Their owner, who discovered his dead herd on Saturday, could not be contacted yesterday.
Police believe the lightning strike happened five to six weeks ago.
