Scottish Highland bull on the loose in Connecticut's rural hill country

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KENT, Conn. (AP) — A Scottish Highland bull is the talk of the town in the rural hills of western Connecticut, where it has been roaming for over a month in the frigid winter weather after escaping from its confines.

Local residents have reported sporadic sightings, including a few over the past week, said Lee Sohl, the animal control officer in Kent. It was recently seen just over the town line in New Milford.

“People keep spotting it and they don’t know that people are looking for it,” Sohl said in a phone interview Thursday. “If somebody calls me about a sighting, then I tell the owner and they’ve been doing their best. They run right out and try to get to it. But it’s hard. It’s hard in this weather, and it’s very scared.”

The owner, Jo Ann Joray, said there have been people out looking for the bull, but they haven't been able to catch it.

Photos posted on social media by people who have spotted the bull have drawn a range of comments, from ones expressing sympathy for its plight, to others saying the bull is adorable to one saying it would produce good steaks.

Stray farm animals are nothing new in the area. Cows, horses and goats get loose on occasion, Sohl said.

“That’s just where we live,” she said.

The bull's story evoked memories of Buddy the beefalo, a bison hybrid who roamed the woods in central Connecticut for months in 2020 and 2021 after escaping on the way to the slaughterhouse. Buddy was eventually caught and moved to a Florida animal sanctuary.

Scottish Highland cattle are known as a hardy breed that can live outside all year, according to the Highland Cattle Society in Scotland. That's good for the Connecticut bull because temperatures have been below freezing for several days.