In a scene straight out of a movie, a group of 45 dairy cows caused chaos on the streets of North Yorkshire, England. The loud commotion created by the escaping cows made local residents believe an earthquake was happening, and the large amount of excrement left behind added to the headache of the situation.
Reported by the Yorkshire Post, the incident took place in the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire on the evening of July 5. As the cows ran amok along the streets, 16-year-old local teenager Leon Box had to quickly flee for safety.
Leon had heard about the cows escaping and went to the street corner to see for himself. When he saw the cows charging towards him, he was shocked and immediately ran to a safe place.
His mother, 36-year-old Jess Box, described how the cows running past their home left the whole family in disbelief. “It sounded like an earthquake,” she said.
Apparently, the cows had escaped from a nearby farm. Jess believed that they pushed through the kissing gate at the end of the road leading to the pasture.
“My eldest son (referring to Leon) had just gone around the corner. Some of his friends said some of the dairy cows had run away. They couldn’t see the road, just a mass of cows,” she explained.
Her 37-year-old husband and their two younger children also went out to investigate. They heard noises, initially mistaking them for children. They later saw the cows run into the neighbor’s garden before heading towards the town center.
It took the North Yorkshire Police several hours to herd the cows to safety.
“They made a real mess. There was a lot of excrement, quite messy. Many people said it was the funniest thing they had ever seen,” Jess added.
While such a sight of cows roaming the streets may be rare, in the largest city of Boise, Idaho, in the United States, seeing thousands of sheep walking on the roads is an annual spectacle.
In a previous report by Dajiyuan, based on a tradition dating back 100 years, ranchers in Idaho migrate sheep to the higher Boise National Forest between spring and summer. Grazing sheep in the forest helps prevent wildfires and aids in the growth of vegetation.
On April 24, 2023, 2,500 sheep crossed Highway 55 under the direction of shepherds and sheepdogs, with approximately 300 people waiting and watching along the route. The sounds were filled with the footsteps of sheep, the ringing of bells, and the cries of the animals.