The water buffalo making headlines in Iowa this week will spend the rest of his days at the Iowa Farm Sanctuary, in Oxford, Iowa.
“Phill,” as the juvenile calf has been named, is not the aggressive animal he was made out to be after escaping his home near Des Moines, according to the nonprofit group, which rehabilitates and cares for rescued farm animals.
See more: Iowa’s first farm sanctuary
The water buffalo was taken Wednesday, Aug. 28, to Iowa State University’s Large Animal Hospital, after being found and tranquilized.
“The staff at the hospital have seen firsthand that Phill is not the aggressive animal many feared,” Iowa Farm Sanctuary posted on its Facebook page. “Instead, he is a scared, juvenile calf who has been chased around in an unfamiliar environment and then captured, leaving him anxious and frightened.”
The water buffalo was first spotted Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, when police officers were called about 10 a.m. to respond to an animal in the roadway in unincorporated Polk County.
Owners told police it was an aggressive animal that they were preparing to butcher for its meat and asked police to “put it down,” according to the Pleasant Hill Police Department, adding that the responding officer said police would not put an animal down unless it posed a danger to the public.
Police did shoot it with one round, however, when it was later located in the busy East University Avenue corridor.
The water buffalo fled, and was spotted again the night of Tuesday, Aug. 27, in water of a sand pit in Des Moines, police said. A plan was developed with Blank Park Zoo, Polk County Conservation, Animal Rescue League of Iowa, and the Altoona, Des Moines and Pleasant Hill police departments to use tranquilizer darts to retrieve it alive.
On Wednesday, Aug. 28, the water buffalo was coaxed out of the water about 9:30 a.m. and shot with a tranquilizer. It started walking away, followed by drones and responding agencies, who shot it with a second tranquilizer about 10 a.m. The water buffalo was then immobilized, loaded onto a trailer and taken to the veterinary clinic.
Police said the owners surrendered the water buffalo to the Des Moines Police Department. The escape is being investigated and charges could be filed.
Iowa Farm Sanctuary posted the following update on its Facebook page: “The team conducted an ultrasound of his abdomen and chest cavity to assess the damage from the gunshot wound. Thankfully, the results were reassuring: the shotgun slug did not penetrate his lung or enter his chest cavity, which means Phill is not experiencing respiratory distress or internal bleeding! His abdominal scan also showed no signs of internal swelling, bleeding, or evidence the slug passed through his outer muscle tissue into the internal abdominal cavity.”
“However, Phill’s journey to recovery is not over. The gunshot wound itself is severely infected, and the vets had to clean it extensively, even removing some necrotic tissue. Phill’s condition is currently stable, and the vets have decided to let him relax and recover from his ordeal before conducting an X-ray to determine whether the slug is still lodged in his muscle or if it has fallen out.”
As of Thursday, Aug. 29, more than $7,000 had been raised to go towards Phill’s care.
Donations can be made on the Iowa Farm Sanctuary’s Facebook page.
“He will know nothing but love and safety for the rest of his incredibly precious, meaningful life,” the group posted on the Iowa Farm Sanctuary Facebook page. “Every single person who fought for Phill—you saved his life. Because of YOU, he’s headed to sanctuary instead of slaughter, and he’s no longer lost, afraid, wounded, and alone.”
Related: Read about the Iowa Farm Sanctuary’s response after rescued sheep were euthanized.
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