ALL RIGHT, JASON, THANK YOU. THE WATER BUFFALO THAT HAS BEEN ROAMING AROUND PLEASANT HILL SINCE SATURDAY HAS FINALLY BEEN CAPTURED. TAKE A LOOK. THIS IS PLEASANT HILL POLICE AND A NUMBER OF OTHER AGENCIES DRIVING AWAY AFTER THEY HAD LOADED THAT WATER BUFFALO ONTO A TRAILER THIS MORNING, IT WAS TAKEN TO IOWA STATE’S LARGE ANIMAL HOSPITAL IN AMES BECAUSE IT WAS WOUNDED. KCCI BEAU BOWMAN HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS STORY ALL WEEK. HE IS IN THE AREA WHERE THE ANIMAL WAS FOUND. HE WAS SPOTTED IN THIS AREA RIGHT IN BETWEEN DES MOINES AND PLEASANT HILL IN A SAND QUARRY WHERE HE WAS ROAMING AROUND IN A POND. KCCI SKY EIGHT CAPTURED THE MOMENT OFFICERS GOT THE WATER BUFFALO INTO A HORSE TRAILER AND DROVE OFF. HE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE LARGE ANIMAL HOSPITAL AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOR TREATMENT. PLEASANT HILL POLICE SAY THE WATER BUFFALO WAS TRANQUILIZED TWICE, BUT IS NOW AWAKE. IT’S STILL UNCLEAR WHETHER ITS OWNER, PREM NEPAL, PICTURED IN POLICE BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE, HAS BEEN CHARGED. I WANT TO SHOOT IT AND YEAH, I CAN’T HAVE YOU SHOOT IT THOUGH. YOU NEED TO CALL US AND BE LIKE, HEY, I GOT IT. WE WILL COME THERE AND THEN SHOOT IT. I CAN’T JUST HAVE YOU SHOOTING IT. NEPAL HAS FACED CHARGES ON THREE OCCASIONS FOR ANIMAL RELATED CRIMES, TWICE FOR ANIMALS AT LARGE AND ANOTHER IN 2020 FOR FAILURE TO DISPOSE OF A DEAD ANIMAL. POSSESSION OF THE WATER BUFFALO, NICKNAMED BY RESIDENTS AND ONLINE FANS AS PHIL WAS SURRENDERED TO DES MOINES POLICE AND THEN EVENTUALLY TO FOUNDERS JARED AND SHAWN CAMP OF THE IOWA FARM SANCTUARY. KIND OF EXPLAIN WHAT IS PHIL’S LIFE GOING TO LOOK LIKE THERE IN OXFORD ON YOUR FARM LIKE THAT? THE WATER BUFFALO WILL BE TAKEN TO THE FARM IN RURAL JOHNSON COUNTY AFTER HE IS MEDICALLY CLEARED BY A VETERINARIAN. THE SANCTUARY IS RAISING MONEY TO HELP PAY FOR HIS MEDICAL CARE. SO IF ANYBODY LIKE, FINDS, YOU KNOW IN THEIR HEART THAT THEY WANT TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION OF HELPING PHIL AS WELL AS ANY OF THE OTHER ANIMALS THAT HAVE MAYBE NOT SIMILAR STORIES, BUT DEFINITELY RESCUE STORIES OF THEIR OWN, THEY CAN ALWAYS JUST COME OVER TO LIKE OUR WEBSITE OR OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND FIND OUR DONATION BUTTONS THERE. THE IOWA FARM SANCTUARY IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON SUNDAY, SO ONCE THE WATER BUFFALO IS MOVED INTO HIS NEW HOME, IOWANS CAN GO VISIT HIM THERE IN DES MOINES, BEAU BOWMAN KCCI EIGHT NEWS. IOWA’S NEWS LEADER AND KCCI HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS STORY FOR DAYS. WE TOLD YOU THE WATER BUFFALO WAS FIRST SEEN WANDERING AROUND PLEASANT HILL SATURDAY. THIS IS BODY CAM. FOOTAGE SHOWS THE MOMENTS WHEN POLICE FIRST ENCOUNTERED THAT ANIMAL. LATER BODY CAMERA VIDEO SHOWS THE OFFICER SHOOTING AND WOUNDING THE ANIMAL. DESPITE DAILY SEARCHES WITH ATVS AND DRONES, THE ANIMAL WASN’T SEEN AGAIN UNTIL TODAY. WE HAVE MORE OF THAT BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE THAT DETAILS THE SEARCH EFFORTS
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Phill the water buffalo captured alive after days on the run
Updated: 12:44 PM EDT Aug 29, 2024
The water buffalo that’s been loose in central Iowa since Saturday has been captured.Officials with the city of Pleasant Hill said in a news release Wednesday that authorities located the wounded animal, which some online have lovingly nicknamed “PHill,” in a sand pit in east Des Moines on Tuesday evening.”It was deemed unsafe to corral the animal at this time of evening with nightfall and storms on their way,” according to a news release from the city of Pleasant Hill. “Knowing its location was away from public areas, a plan was developed for the Pleasant Hill Police Department to partner with Polk County Conservation, Blank Park Zoo, Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Altoona Police Department, and the Des Moines Police Department to implement plans to retrieve the animal alive, utilizing tranquilizer darts.”Crews coaxed the animal out of the water Wednesday morning and shot it with a tranquilizer dart around 9:30 a.m. “The water buffalo started walking south on the property,” the news release said. “Drones and multiple responding agencies followed it. Around 10 a.m., a second tranquilizer dart was administered. The water buffalo was immobilized, loaded into a trailer, and treated with reversal drugs, antibiotics, and vitamins.” On its Facebook page, the Iowa Farm Sanctuary posted that the animal was transported to Iowa State’s Large Animal Hospital. Founders of the sanctuary confirmed Wednesday to sister station KCCI that they had taken legal ownership of the water buffalo shortly after it was captured. “They get to roam the pastures throughout the day, they can go swimming in the pond, if they want, we really just give them their own space, and give them a home where they can do whatever they want whenever they want,” said founder Jered Camp.They said if or when he is discharged from the hospital he’ll go to live on their farm. City officials said its “prognosis is guarded.” Police said they first encountered the animal around 10 a.m. Saturday, and attempted to help guide it back to its owner’s property. But the animal took off, wandering through several properties and across busy roads. Officers caught up to it and an officer fired one shot from a shotgun, wounding the animal in the left side of its belly.It escaped capture there and disappeared into a neighborhood, and few sightings have been reported since Saturday despite search efforts by authorities using a drone and officers on ATVs.Authorities say an investigation is ongoing and charges may be filed against the animal’s original owner.Locals have shared a number of photos of the water buffalo. Water buffaloes are native to southeast Asia and can weigh up to 2,650 pounds, according to the website for National Geographic. Under Iowa law, water buffalo are not considered to be a dangerous wild animal. They’re the largest member of the Bovini tribe, which includes yak, bison, African buffalo, various species of wild cattle, and others, the website said.
The water buffalo that’s been loose in central Iowa since Saturday has been captured.
Officials with the city of Pleasant Hill said in a news release Wednesday that authorities located the wounded animal, which some online have lovingly nicknamed “PHill,” in a sand pit in east Des Moines on Tuesday evening.
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“It was deemed unsafe to corral the animal at this time of evening with nightfall and storms on their way,” according to a news release from the city of Pleasant Hill. “Knowing its location was away from public areas, a plan was developed for the Pleasant Hill Police Department to partner with Polk County Conservation, Blank Park Zoo, Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Altoona Police Department, and the Des Moines Police Department to implement plans to retrieve the animal alive, utilizing tranquilizer darts.”
Crews coaxed the animal out of the water Wednesday morning and shot it with a tranquilizer dart around 9:30 a.m.
“The water buffalo started walking south on the property,” the news release said. “Drones and multiple responding agencies followed it. Around 10 a.m., a second tranquilizer dart was administered. The water buffalo was immobilized, loaded into a trailer, and treated with reversal drugs, antibiotics, and vitamins.”
On its Facebook page, the Iowa Farm Sanctuary posted that the animal was transported to Iowa State’s Large Animal Hospital. Founders of the sanctuary confirmed Wednesday to sister station KCCI that they had taken legal ownership of the water buffalo shortly after it was captured.
“They get to roam the pastures throughout the day, they can go swimming in the pond, if they want, we really just give them their own space, and give them a home where they can do whatever they want whenever they want,” said founder Jered Camp.
They said if or when he is discharged from the hospital he’ll go to live on their farm. City officials said its “prognosis is guarded.”
Police said they first encountered the animal around 10 a.m. Saturday, and attempted to help guide it back to its owner’s property. But the animal took off, wandering through several properties and across busy roads.
Officers caught up to it and an officer fired one shot from a shotgun, wounding the animal in the left side of its belly.
It escaped capture there and disappeared into a neighborhood, and few sightings have been reported since Saturday despite search efforts by authorities using a drone and officers on ATVs.
Authorities say an investigation is ongoing and charges may be filed against the animal’s original owner.
Locals have shared a number of photos of the water buffalo.
Water buffaloes are native to southeast Asia and can weigh up to 2,650 pounds, according to the website for National Geographic. Under Iowa law, water buffalo are not considered to be a dangerous wild animal. They’re the largest member of the Bovini tribe, which includes yak, bison, African buffalo, various species of wild cattle, and others, the website said.
