Bison on the loose after more than 100 escape feedlot in Nebraska, photos show
No, that’s not a live version of the Oregon Trail, or a line from “Home, Home on the Range” being acted out – it’s live bison on the loose in Nebraska.
More than 100 bison were on the run in Phelps County after escaping from a feedlot on Wednesday, the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office told the Journal Star. Five of the animals have been hit and killed by vehicles in three different accidents.
“At this time we are trying to keep them in one location,” Lieutenant Jamie Tilson from the sheriff’s office said, according to the Star. “The sheriff’s office main goal is to keep them off the highways. The owner of the buffalo is rounding up cowboys and other farmers to help out. They are getting four-wheelers and horses.”
The Nebraska State Patrol warned motorists to stay away from the area.
Nebraska TV also reported that bison were killed as they were passing over a highway.
Video of the wandering bison was captured by Nebraska TV reporter Brian Gnuse and posted to Facebook.
“This time of the year buffalo don’t round up easily,” Tilson said. “If we have a few left straggling around, apparently they cover a lot of ground in just a few hours.”
Bison escapes aren’t that unusual — though tell that to someone who’s never encountered one before. A herd of 75 bison escaped from an upstate New York farm back in 2019 and caused damage to harvests by eating fresh hay in fields, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
And, of course, who can forget when NBC Montana reporter Deion Broxton became a human meme and GIF in March when he reacted to an approaching bison by smartly getting out of dodge in a hurry.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Bison on the loose after more than 100 escape feedlot in Nebraska, photos show."