Watch: 'Cow On The Loose' Mesmerizes In Brooklyn And Beyond

By Bill Chappell

Published October 17, 2017 at 11:42 AM CDT

Need a break from hard news? How about an old-fashioned stakeout? An unidentified bovine — it looks to be a young bull — drove a section of New York City to distraction, leading a very slow speed chase into and around outdoor sports fields in the Prospect Park area of Brooklyn.

Live video from the scene provided by ABC 7 TV's helicopter showed the animal ambling around a soccer field as a New York City police truck idled nearby. A crowd gathered outside the fence at the Prospect Park Parade Ground; several times, the bull stopped in its tracks to stare back at them.

After roughly 90 minutes of cat-and-mouse-games at the sports complex, the bull was tranquilized and removed. According to NYPD Special Operations, the bull "was benched in the dugout prior to #ALCS game 4. He was safely removed to @NYCACC [NYC Animal Care Centers] & will be cared for until a new home is found."

Update The 🐄 was benched in the dugout prior to #ALCS game 4. He was safely removed to @NYCACC & will be cared for until a new home is found pic.twitter.com/HfEXkFliR9
— NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) October 17, 2017

The animal was sighted in public shortly before 11:30 a.m. ET, when several Twitter users said they had watched it running on nearby streets and sidewalks. Around noon, it entered the sports complex. And for a time after it entered the playing field, police officers picked up soccer goal nets in an attempt to corner it. But like an elusive Lionel Moosi, this bovine wasn't to be corralled so easily.

The young bull was finally trapped in the sports field's dugout area, which had been sealed at least on one end by a police vehicle. As it stood pondering its fate, police did their best to wave away a crowd of dozens of people who had gathered next to the fence to take photos.

This cow was spotted on 17th St. in S. Slope Brooklyn, but is now at Prospect Park soccer field, smartly preferring urban oasis pic.twitter.com/qxHJYUQ2t9
— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) October 17, 2017

The situation prompted a number of comments on the ABC 7 live feed. Here's a sample:

@EmmanyBrah1210: "The cow's demands of 100 bales of hay have not been met"

@beautydashdot: "Nypd are scared of a cow - amazing"

@ObrienKade6: "I love this cow... he's my main moo"

@_AmazinRaisin6: "Cow been offsides this whole time"

@pyroegg114: "@ProspectParkCow just put your hooves behind your head and come quietly"

@ABC7NY: "COW UPDATE: NYPD is making moooooves on Brooklyn cow"

@barmstr546 [Replying to @ABC7NY]: Yes, we've "herd".

Many comments on social media are from people wondering how the bovine made it to the field — and worrying about its welfare. This is at least the third such animal to run free in New York City since the start of 2016.

In February of this year, a bull that was captured after escaping from a slaughterhouse in Queens died before it could be taken to an animal sanctuary.

And in April 2016, a cow pulled off an escape — and comedian Jon Stewart later drove it to safety at the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, N.Y.