The owner of a wayward bull that escaped from Flame Auction in Littleton, Massachusetts says the search for the animal has been called off for the day.
The bull, missing since Tuesday, is believed to be resting in Ayer. It was last spotted Wednesday afternoon in Michele Clements’s backyard.
“I heard this big rustling sound and he comes right around the corner of my house and down through the backyard,” said Clements who took cell phone video of the bull on the move.
Terry Den Besten had just purchased the 1,100-pound bull at an auction in Littleton, but he never got it back to his farm.
“I was loading the animal,” said Den Besten. “I didn’t get the door closed fast enough, he came back off the back of the trailer, there was about a 6-foot fence, he just cleared it and was gone.”
And since then, the search has been on — the bull making its way through the woods of Littleton, Groton and Ayer.
“He’s just skittish,” said Den Besten. “He’s in a territory he doesn’t know, when you approach him he just walks about, he walks away from people, let him relax, let him cool down.”
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For now, the search has been suspended.
The animal is on its own — last seen near Clements’s backyard in Ayer.
“He was pretty big,” said Clements. “A lot bigger than I expected so I put water out, fresh water out for him just in case, I figure it’s a hot day, maybe that would slow him down.”
Environmental police and the owner will be back out Thursday morning.
The owner says they are not allowed to tranquilize the bull.
In the meantime, officials are urging people to stay far away and avoid approaching the animal if they see him.
