No Bull: Water Buffalo on the Loose in Iowa

redstate.com

When you picture a water buffalo, you’d probably picture it in the setting of someplace like India, Borneo, Sumatra, or Indonesia; somewhere where these big, tough, and occasionally aggressive critters are naturally found.

But as of this writing, a rogue water buffalo is on the loose in the environs of Pleasant Hill, Iowa, and local authorities have not yet been able to bring the beast back to captivity.

No bull!

A rogue water buffalo that was destined to be slaughtered by its owner near Pleasant Hill escaped its fate on Saturday and has been missing for the fourth day in a row.

The water buffalo, which has now become an unexpected celebrity and given the nickname “PHill” by residents, was about to be shot before jumping on its owner and escaping, a deputy says in body camera footage of officers’ attempts to corral the loose animal.

In the body camera footage obtained by the Des Moines Register, a Pleasant Hill police officer and two Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies wearing mirrored sunglasses are seen talking to a farmer by train tracks near his farm in rural Polk County, just north of the Pleasant Hill city limits.

It’s mildly amazing that the animal has been able to evade recapture this long. A prize beast like this is doubtless worth a fair amount of bullion, and its owners will be anxious to have it back. It’s udderly inconceivable that the authorities haven’t yet been able to track down a one-ton bovid that stands out like, well, a water buffalo in Iowa.

The locals who are putting up with having this beast on the loose no doubt have a beef with the people who allowed it to escape…