Earlier this month, a water buffalo managed to wander off of its property and found its way onto the Moorpark College campus.
The buffalo was returned safely to its owner with the combined effort of the Moorpark College Campus Police, deputies from the Moorpark Police Department, Ventura County Animal Services and faculty from The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College. A video of the water buffalo roaming the campus was also posted to the VCCCD Police Instagram page.
The buffalo wandered onto campus on Nov. 1 from a nearby ranch. The animal managed to make its way over a fence and began wandering the streets of a neighborhood north of the school.
Andrew Huisenga, a lieutenant of the Moorpark College Campus Police explained how the incident began.
“The call was a sheriff’s call for service originally, as the water buffalo got through the cattle fence on the property that is north of the campus and wandered into the above neighborhood,” Huisenga said.
Deputies from the Moorpark Police Department responded to the call quickly and began to try to contain it. Since this was an atypical call, officers decided to get backup from the Ventura County Animal Services team. This backup was further reinforced when the buffalo wandered onto the college campus.
“The water buffalo eventually walked onto our campus where our staff, along with the zoo staff and Sheriffs, attempted to get it back on the other side of the cattle fence,” added Huisenga.
At this point, four different teams of professionals were trying to get this buffalo back home. The strategy they went with to return the buffalo was to use their vehicles to slowly drive next to the buffalo to guide it down the best path to its residence.
Animal Control Officer Loc T. was on the scene and explained that the motorcade for the buffalo led to a fence of the ranch, which Loc cut open wide enough so the buffalo could pass through. Then, the large team of professionals managed to guide the buffalo calmly through the fence.
Afterward, the team notified the ranch owner that the fence needed to be replaced, and that they had successfully returned the buffalo to the property. The cut fence was the only real damage caused by this event, as no other damages by the buffalo were reported.
Loc expressed how having a crew of many professionals with various skill sets, such as the zoo faculty who have experience working with larger animals and the Sheriffs who have great leadership skills, helped resolve the situation effectively and safely.
The buffalo got lost, but it almost seemed like it knew that the faculty at the zoo could help it get back home. Luckily for the buffalo, Moorpark College’s generous faculty, along with the other officials, helped solve its problem.
