A cow in the Bialowieza Forest in Poland has decided to give up the comfort of domestication to join a herd of 50 bison. An ornithologist with the BBC, Adam Zbyryt, was the first to spot the errant cow, which escaped from its enclosure last fall. He told a Polish news outlet: “It’s not unusual to see bison near the Bialowieza Forest, but one animal caught my eye. It was a completely different light-brown shade from the rest of the herd. Bison are chestnut or dark brown.” He used a pair of binoculars to identify the animal as a Limousin cow. She looks in good health and has been accepted by the herd as one of their own.
Sadly, Polish bison populations are endangered, so the cow will have to be recaptured in the spring to prevent breeding. But for now, the cow will be allowed to roam the forests of Bialowieza with her bison friends.
Images courtesy of Rafal Kowalczyk and via Wikimedia Commons
Via the BBC, The Associated Press, and TVN24 (1,2)