A 1,600-pound breeding bull escaped a transport truck on a busy street in Baltimore Wednesday, sending authorities on a dash to capture the animal.
The bull jumped from the truck while it was stopped at a traffic light just after 3 p.m., according to WBAL-TV.
The bull's owner, Scott Barao, of Hedgeapple Farm, told WBAL he's not sure exactly how the purebred Angus got loose.
“All we know is we were taking him home to the farm in Frederick,” Barao said. “The farm manager was stopped at a red light -- I think maybe, I'm not sure, up by Mondawmin Mall, maybe -- and he said, ‘The next thing I know, the bull's running alongside the trailer.’”
Baltimore police spokeswoman Detective Nicole Monroe told the Baltimore Sun that the "owner of the bull said he doesn't have the best disposition," The Associated Press reported.
The Sun reported that Barao begged police not to shoot the animal unless they had to. He said he paid $5,000 for the Angus but that it is "priceless in terms of his genetics for us in our breeding program."
Experts with the Maryland Zoo tranquilized the 1 1/2-year-old bull around 5:30 after it was corralled in a field, and rescue crews were able to load the animal onto a transporter when it fell asleep.
Barao told WBAL he was grateful to first responders for how they handled what could have been a tragic situation.
“These people were unbelievable, the restraint that they showed. They could have shot that bull two hours ago and been done with it and they were courteous and kind, and I just owe them a debt of gratitude because we could have turned out a lot different today.”
Barao described the bull to the Sun as "extremely valuable" and said he's "just glad to have him alive."
The bull is expected to be just fine, he said.
Baltimore has seen this before. Two bulls escaped in June and ran through city streets. Two more escaped from a slaughterhouse in 2016 and another escaped from a slaughterhouse in 2014.
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