The iconic beast stepped past a broken fence on his farm Monday morning and roamed out into the wilds of western Loudoun County, a suburb about 50 miles from D.C. better known for having the country’s highest concentration of data centers than for being a place where buffalo roam.
The escape of the 1,500-pound bison from a local farm prompted a flurry of calls to the local sheriff’s office around 7 a.m. and brought out a crew of deputies and three animal services officers specially trained in large-animal rescues — one carrying a tranquilizer, just in case.
It also created a stir on social media after a resident who lives south of the small town of Purcellville posted a photo on Facebook. It showed the huge creature sitting on a grassy spot near a log on her land. The message read: “This bison is on our property. If you know to whom he may belong to, please message me.”
One woman commented, “We paid all that money to go to Yellowstone when we could have just driven close to home!”
At Yellowstone National Park, a bison attacked a 65-year-old man and flung him into the air last month, marking the park’s second bison attack in recent weeks. A video of the incident showed the man taking photos of the bison as it was lying on the ground near a busy campground, when it suddenly stood and charged him.
In Loudoun, animal services officials reminded the public to keep their distance. Law enforcement vehicles followed close behind as the bison trudged along, keeping any onlookers from coming too close as the animal walked and grazed occasionally.
“They may look like furry cows, but they’re definitely not,” said Nina Stively, director of Loudoun County Animal Services. “Bison are the wild cousins of cows.”
On social media, the bison’s excursion generated plenty of comments.
Stively’s unit posted on its Facebook page: “You might have noticed an interesting parade down our gravel roads in Western Loudoun today! Our Humane Law Enforcement team got the call that a bison was loose and creating his own version of a farm tour through the neighborhood.”
One resident posted that his daughter called him and said, “Dad, there’s a million cops outside and a Bison!”
Stively first learned of the escape when she arrived at her office just after 9 a.m. One of her employees called her over to his desk.
“What you got?” she asked.
“We have a bison,” the staffer said.
“Where? What’s it doing?” Stively asked.
“Just walking around,” he said.
It wasn’t a typical call. Her department mostly deals with cats and dogs and “things that can go in a small carrier,” Stively said, “not something that needs a double-wide trailer to be transported.”
No one on her staff was immediately sure who the beast belonged to. The county maintains a database linking livestock to their owners, but the escaped bison and his human weren’t listed. Stively said area residents told dispatchers that the bison “lives at a farm down the road,” but weren’t sure exactly which one, so one of her staffers went door to door trying to find it.
Farmers don’t need a special permit to raise bison in the county, just enough space. Stively said less than half a dozen farmers in the county raise them.
As the bison roamed, the rescuers followed.
“They just drove slowly behind him to keep him going in the right direction,” Stively said. “He was just out poking around, eating grass. He didn’t feel he was anyone’s emergency.”
Six hours later, officials found the owner — thanks in part to tips from area residents and other livestock owners — and were able to help guide the bison back to where he had started his day. It had roamed about two miles from home.
The officers escorted the bison down the final stretch of road, Stively said, “and herded him onto his property.”
The day’s placid end avoided one of their most feared scenarios. The officers did not want to have to use a tranquilizer, Stively said, because the bison would have become agitated and probably would have charged.
Despite their size, the vast animals are remarkably agile and quick. They can run up to about 35 mph. They don’t have good vision and feel easily threatened, Stively said. But it all turned out peacefully.
It’s “what we do,” Stively said. “We try to make sure people and animals live harmoniously together.”
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