Farmer played cowboy

Forest calf “Lore” back home after three months

The calf "Lore" roamed the local Vienna Woods for three months.(Bild: zVg)

The calf escaped at the beginning of April and has been roaming the Vienna Woods ever since. Now "Lore" has returned - albeit only after some persuasion by her owner.

While the "hunt" for the unruly cattle in the Waldviertel is still not bearing any fruit, farmer Markus Poyer from Ried am Riederberg in the district of Tulln can breathe a sigh of relief: after almost a month in the wild, the escaped calf "Lore" has now been caught using an animal-friendly drift trap.

Trotted from the pasture into the Vienna Woods
The fact that the young animal remained unharmed after such a long time in the wild is nothing short of a miracle. "We had just put several cows out to pasture when our youngster suddenly bolted from the herd and ran straight into the forest," recalls the 41-year-old passionate farmer on the evening of April 3.

Now it has been recaptured with a sophisticated and animal-friendly trap.(Bild: zVg)

Authorities urged farmer to shoot
Initial attempts to catch the animal failed, and the hope that "Lore" would return after dark, lured by the mother cow's cries, was disappointed. For days, the organic farmer combed the nearby Vienna Woods with the help of friends and family - to no avail. Curious: walkers discovered a "wild cow" in the forest, which was even captured. But it was not "Lore".

Incidentally, while the authorities were already pushing for the four-legged animal to be shot, there was now a "happy ending".