It might sound weird, but a herd of deer in a forest in New York accepted a baby cow as their own and welcomed her into their family. The story has quite a twist, as this bovine was an escapee from a slaughterhouse! Her name is Bonnie, and she is quite a resilient baby who took off after her siblings and mother were sent to a slaughterhouse.
Although she lost her mother, who has been with her for four months, Bonnie took to the woods, where she discovered some weird looking cows!
20. A Herd of Cows
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Bonnie was born on a farm, but as the owner died, his children sold the whole herd of cows to a slaughterhouse. When the cows were gathered to be sent in a trailer, they started bellowing in fear. Bonnie was scared, so she ran…
19. A Young Calf
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Even though she was too young to understand what the commotion was, she knew that she was surrounded by terrified animals. So, she ran and hid in the forest. This is what the Farm Sanctuary National Shelter said about her escape.
18. She Was Just a Baby
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‘She was just a baby. She took off and her mom probably lost her mind because mother cows are nuts over their babies,’ explained the director of the Farm Sanctuary, Susie Coston. However, it was her action that saved her life.
17. A Sad Beginning
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Coston added that the separation between the mother and the calf was very sad, ‘but at the same time it’s the thing that saved her.’ In the meantime, people heard about the runaway cow, and Bonnie became famous.
16. A Local Celebrity
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Bonnie became famous, and people would spot her in the woods, but she never allowed them to capture her. Everybody was wondering how this little domesticated cow would survive all alone in the woods?
15. Was It a Real Story?
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Time passed, and Bonnie’s escape became a myth. The weather became colder, and nobody could get the calf. People knew she was hiding, and on wildlife camera, hunters saw Bonnie. But their hearts melted when they saw her with some friends…
14. She Was Not Alone!
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It was surprising to see Bonnie surrounded by a herd of wild deer. She was not alone, and Coston admits that a cow and a herd of deer is an unlikely combination. This is what she said about Bonnie’s new family. That’s too cute!
13. Never Seen Anything Like This!
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Coston said she saw Bonnie on the camera, and that ‘this is the first time I’ve seen wild animals take on a calf. They slept together and they hung out together. Clearly, she was part of that herd.’ But there was a problem…
12. ‘Fine, Just Stay’
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‘She was probably terrified and trying so hard to be with someone. They were probably like, fine, just stay,’ added Coston jokingly. She thinks that the herd took her in and treated her like she was one of them and it was quite cool. But…
11. She Won’t Make It…
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When a hunter told his neighbor, Becky Bartels, about a cow living with the deer in the woods, she couldn’t believe it. Then, it struck her: the calf wasn’t going to make it in the winter on her own. Becky had to help her!
10. Setting a Trail Camera
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Becky set up a trail camera and returned every day to add some bedding, water, and food for the calf. Bonnie took her time in trusting her benefactor, but it was worth it when she came to greet her and even brought the deer with her!
9. Winter Was Harsh
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Snow and harsh winter came, and Becky kept going into the forest with supplies on a sled. But Becky knew this wouldn’t last forever. Bonnie was famous, but she wondered on the local’s property, who said that they’d have her for dinner if they would catch her…
8. Calling the Local Rescue Organization
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As she heard the warnings, Becky called Farm Sanctuary to help her rescue the calf and take her to safety, away from the angered locals. Bonnie needed a safe place to grow up, among others like her.
7. A Wild Family
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The deer might take care of her, but Bonnie was not a wild animal, and if she were to live a long life, she would have to go to live in a sanctuary, where people would take care of her.
6. The Rescue Mission
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This year, in March, Becky and rescuers at the Farm Sanctuary began their mission to save Bonnie. It took them two weeks to finally catch the cow, which ran away every time people approached her. This is what the team did…
5. Patience and Dedication
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Meredith Turner-Smith, the media relations specialist for Farm Sanctuary, said that they ‘built a corral around her eating space, patiently waiting to close her in.’ It took them a while and a lot of food to tempt her!
4. Out of the Woods
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Bonnie was finally tempted by the food in the corral, and she was slightly sedated before being safely taken to the sanctuary. She woke up at the Farm Sanctuary, a place that became her forever home. There, she has cozy barns and large pastures to graze.
3. Finding New Friends
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Bonnie might have left her deer family in the woods, but she found new friends that looked exactly like her. ‘Bonnie beat the odds,’ wrote Turner-Smith wrote, adding these heart melting words…
2. A New Home With a Loving Family
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‘Here, our resilient new friend will spend her life in peace, surrounded by caring humans and a loving herd of her fellow rescued cattle,’ concluded Turner-Smith. On the rescue group’s webpage – animalsoffarmsanctuary.com, they wrote Bonnie’s entire story.
1. ‘Out of the Woods and Into Sanctuary: Meet Bonnie’
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The rescue group wrote in their story that ‘Bonnie’s journey home was a true community effort,’ thanking everyone who helped ‘our new friend come home.’
Thanks to all the kind people, Bonnie now lives safely among her own!