Elusive Iowa water buffalo finally ‘humanely secured’

DES MOINES — An escaped water buffalo was located Wednesday, days after it was shot and wounded during a weekend attempt to return it to its owner's suburban property, officials said.

The animal was found in a wooded area in Des Moines, officials told KCCI-TV. Police initially were called Saturday after the animal wandered away from its pen and became aggressive in the Pleasant Hill suburb.

That proved to be the case when police and animal rescue and control groups began trying to contain the water buffalo and return it to the owner’s property. Those efforts “led the animal to show its aggressiveness toward Pleasant Hill officers which resulted in one round being fired from a shotgun, injuring the animal,” police said Monday in a Facebook post.

Iowa Farm Sanctuary, a rescue in Eastern Iowa, wrote Wednesday on Facebook that the water buffalo had been “humanely secured” after being found. The organization said the animal was shot in the chest and is headed to the Iowa State Large Animal Hospital at Iowa State University for treatment. It added that the water buffalo was surrendered by its owner and would be joining the sanctuary after treatment.

Water buffaloes can weigh up to 2,650 pounds, according to the website for National Geographic, though the Iowa animal appears smaller in photos. Often domesticated, the water buffalo is the largest member of the Bovini tribe, which includes yak, bison, African buffalo, various species of wild cattle and others, the website said.