An Iowa police department is warning the public to be on the lookout for a “dangerous” and “aggressive” escaped water buffalo that escaped from its owner’s property where it was being loaded for meat processing when it escaped over the weekend.
Pleasant Hill police and Polk County sheriff’s officers are working to find and subdue the animal, according to a police department news release Monday. A Pleasant Hill officer shot the water buffalo with a shotgun, wounding it. The encounter was captured on body camera footage.
The water buffalo escaped from its owner while on its way to slaughter, the Iowa Farm Sanctuary (IFS) told ABC News. The IFS hopes the animal, nicknamed “Hank” on its Facebook feed, can be found and taken to a sanctuary instead of the slaughterhouse as originally planned.
“The landowner is leasing this land to the owner of the water buffalo,” the organization explained in a social media post. “There are two more buffalo there and the landowner has asked us to take them. We have agreed to take the other two buffalo, but at this point they are still owned by someone else. So we are waiting.”
“If Hank is found alive, we will do everything we can to get him to the vet immediately,” the IFS added.
Pleasant Hill police initially responded to a report of an animal on the road Saturday, the department said. When the owner told departments that the water buffalo was aggressive, officers began working with Des Moines Animal Control to rehome the animal. But both agencies found that task easier said than done.
“Neither the cooperating animal control agency nor we have tranquilizers or other equipment to deal with such an extraordinary situation,” the police department said.
Police were able to catch the water buffalo the same day it escaped. “The animal then displayed aggression toward Pleasant Hill officers, which resulted in a shotgun being fired, injuring the animal,” the agency said.
The confrontation was captured on footage from one of the officers’ body cameras. The water buffalo fled after being wounded and was able to successfully escape from the authorities.
Pleasant Hill police are working with Polk County Sheriff’s officials and are using drones to search the area where “Hank” was last seen. Officers on ATVs are also checking bike paths near a creek. Police are also “working with local individuals who have experience with containing this species.”
“The safety of the Pleasant Hill community is our top priority,” the department said. “With a dangerous animal on the loose in our community, we are using all available resources to ensure the safety of our community and attempt to return the animal to its owner if possible.”
