Bonnie the cow is just a year old, but she has already lived an incredible life.
Bonnie spent the first few months of her life on a farm in Holland, New York. While there, she hardly left her mother’s side. Unfortunately, when Bonnie was four months old, the farm’s owner died. His children decided to sell the whole herd of cows to a slaughterhouse. The farm workers rounded the cows up and put them in a trailer, and the cows bellowed in fear.
Even though Bonnie was very young, she seemed to understand that something terrible was about to happen to her and her family. And so, Bonnie ran from the farm and hid in the forest.
Word spread about the runaway cow, and Bonnie became a local celebrity. Sometimes, people would spot her in the woods, but she would always run away before she could be captured.
There was one question on everyone’s mind: how was this young, domesticated cow surviving on her own?
One day, hunters saw Bonnie on their wildlife camera. And to everyone’s surprise, they learned that Bonnie wasn’t on her own—she had made friends with a herd of wild deer.
The deer and Bonnie all grazed through the woods together. The deer seemed to accept Bonnie as one of their own.
“Since she had lost her first family (and cattle are herd animals), the deer helped Bonnie survive and accepted her as their own — eating, sleeping and running together!” Meredith Turner-Smith, media relations specialist for Farm Sanctuary, told The Dodo. “Like a deer, this ‘bovine Bambi’ would disappear into the forest whenever people appeared.”
Even though Bonnie had a great family, there was another problem: winter was coming, and the area Bonnie was in often got tons of snow. Everyone worried Bonnie wouldn’t be able to find food. And so, a local woman named Becky started helping the cow.
Becky trekked into the woods each day and brought Bonnie food.
At first, Bonnie was wary of Becky. She’d had very few positive interactions with humans, and she wasn’t sure if Becky meant her harm. But over time, Bonnie began to trust Becky.
Once Becky won Bonnie’s trust, she called local rescue organization Farm Sanctuary and asked for help rescuing the cow.
Bonnie needed a safe place to grow up. Even though the deer were taking care of her, Bonnie was still a domesticated animal, and she wouldn’t be able to survive in the forest for long. Plus, Bonnie had a tendency to wander onto private property, and some of the residents were threatening to shoot and eat the cow. If Bonnie was going to live a long life, she needed to go to a sanctuary.
In March 2018, Becky and a few rescuers from Farm Sanctuary went to save Bonnie. For two weeks, the cow ran away whenever they approached her. But finally, they were able to get her.
“Since it was too risky to try catching her in the woods, we built a corral around her eating space, patiently waiting to close her in,” Turner-Smith said. “Bonnie was very wary of our presence, however; she only let Becky touch her, and would run away if anyone else got too close.”
Now, Bonnie is happily living at Farm Sanctuary. She has settled into life at the sanctuary, and she has made friends with some of the other cows.
Bonnie is a true survivor, and she had some wonderful people and deer who looked out for her along the way. Bonnie is going to have a great, long life!
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