One of the best parts about going hiking is seeing various types of wildlife. Normally, that means spotting a deer or two, as well as some squirrels or chipmunks.
However, when Nolan Fogle went hiking recently, he came across a baby cow with its head stuck in a tree.
It was a big surprise, but luckily, he knew exactly what to do. The beautiful moment of the young male calf’s rescue was all caught on video and it’s something you have to see to believe.
“The odds of us finding this guy were so slim it’s crazy,” said Fogle in the video description. “I’ve never been in this area.”
Fogle was out exploring new areas as part of his social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
It just so happened that it was the same day that the calf was trying new things as well. The calf was messing around with the tree and made a big mistake — it put its head between the v-shape formed between the trunks. Immediately, it got itself wedged in there and couldn’t escape.
Many people might wonder how something like this could happen, but Fogle had a simple explanation for the ordeal.
He speculated that the cow was trying to get bugs off of its body by rubbing its neck and head against the tree. After making a wrong move, it got stuck.
It had “obviously been trying to rub flies off of itself and got stuck in this tree,” Fogle explained.
Fogle approached the calf cautiously with his hand out hoping to keep the animal calm.
He had no idea how it would react. It was clearly very scared and it was possible that the calf had sustained some injuries.
The calf pulled away aggressively trying to get away as Fogle got closer, however, it was no use.
The harder it tried, the more stuck it got. Fogle patted the animal on the head and reassured it that everything was going to be okay.
He worked to break off some branches on the tree that might be getting in the way of the calf’s escape.
They were preventing its head from moving upwards.
After he got the branches out of the way, he gently lifted the calf’s head.
There was a lot of mooing going on and the calf was noticeably stressed out.
It took multiple attempts to get the calf unstuck.
However, it was only a few seconds overall before the calf was freed. The small amount of additional stress and pain for the animal was well worth it.
It quickly trotted away from the tree back out across the open pasture.
It was a big relief for everyone involved.
Although, that’s when Fogle noticed that there was still one major problem.
“It’s got a broken ankle right there, front right ankle,” exclaimed Fogle in the video.
Whether the ankle was already broken beforehand or the calf broke it while trying to escape from the tree is unclear. However, after getting the animal free, it was finally able to wander back to the farm where the ranchers would be able to assist.
It was a really close call. If Fogle hadn’t stumbled upon the injured calf that day, there is no telling how much longer it would have made it. He came to the rescue just in the brink of time. Although cows can’t tell us how they are feeling with words, we’re sure that this one was very appreciative.
Watch the full video of the rescue of the baby cow stuck in the tree below.
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