Cow leaps three foot fence and squashes car

[Serpo]

Motorist Robert Gould is lucky to be alive after a startled cow leapt over a three-foot fence and landed on his car.


http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01970/MooBang_1970186c.jpg Amazingly Robert escaped with just cuts and bruises despite skidding almost 80 yards and ending up on the wrong side of the road as he tried to stop Photo: CATERS







8:00AM BST 12 Aug 2011


The frightened Friesian has written off Robert's Citroen C5 after denting the bonnet and breaking a wheel after bounding onto the busy road.

Stunned police later breath-tested Robert after he called 999 to report the collision.

It is understood the cow which died at the scene had been trying to escape from a farmer when it jumped into the road on the outskirts of Leek, Staffs.

Robert escaped with cuts and bruises despite skidding almost 80 yards and ending up on the wrong side of the road as he tried to stop.

The 24-year-old said: "I am now looking out for low-flying cows when I am driving ."

House-hunter Robert was travelling at 60mph and had been on his way to view a property in Cheddleton at the time of the accident in Macclesfield Road.
Safety officer Robert, of Barlaston, Staffs, said: "I was driving along when a cow jumped out and landed on my bonnet.
"It had hurdled a three-foot high fence and hit the front of my car.
"I had no time to brake and my car veered to the other side of the road.
"I was very lucky that nothing was coming in the opposite direction.
"The police were very nice about everything, although I don't think they could quite believe it either.
"They breath-tested me which came back negative."
Dad Chris, aged 53, said: "To see a cow flying over the top of the car made Robert jump and it has left him in shock. It was a good job the road was not busy at the time."
The dead cow was later removed by a digger.
Bob Lee, who retired from Staffordshire Ambulance Service after 30 years dealing with emergencies, said: "I have heard of someone being trampled by a cow, but never a cow jumping over a fence and landing on a car."
Farmer Clive Langford-Mycock believes the cow must have been very frightened to have jumped the fence during last weekend's incident.
The farmer, a former Staffordshire National Farmers' Union chairman, said: "Accidents involving farm animals are very rare.
"Something must have happened to frighten the cow. Possible causes could be thunder or lightning, low-flying aircraft or one of those stupid Chinese lanterns.
"I hope the driver gets over it."



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8695400/Cow-leaps-three-foot-fence-and-squashes-car.html

[Glass]

cows are big and I've seen them go up and over 7ft fences. It was probably an aware cow and was trying to avoid the market truck. We had one like that once. A brangus bull. Several years we tried to get him on the truck. Rebuilt the yards +7 ft high fences to hold this one cow. Over the top he went. year after year. Finally we got him and chained up. He strangled himself when the market truck came rumbling up the road. He wasn't going there no way no how.

[ximmy]

...The little dog laughed to see such sport, And the dish ran away with the spoon...

[Serpo]

cows are big and I've seen them go up and over 7ft fences. It was probably an aware cow and was trying to avoid the market truck. We had one like that once. A brangus bull. Several years we tried to get him on the truck. Rebuilt the yards +7 ft high fences to hold this one cow. Over the top he went. year after year. Finally we got him and chained up. He strangled himself when the market truck came rumbling up the road. He wasn't going there no way no how.
I remember when I was a kid a farmer had to jump a huge gorse fence when a bull chased him.There was no way he could jump the fence without the bull chasing him though haha

[Glass]

Once upon a time I was visting with a young city lady on a farm. The cows on the farm used to get the occasional treat during the dry when the feed was low. This was sacks of grain that were emptied out into piles for the cows. A toot of the horn would get them stampeding up from the valleys to get some of these treats. We were sitting in the vehicle cab just chatting when a curious cow came up to the car on her side and stuck it's head in the window. This young lady turned around to come face to face with a big black wet nose and two huge big brown eyes. One screamed and the other moo'ed. Both hit the roof. I don't know who was more startled.

Did I laugh? You bet I did.

[keehah]

The ultimate sacrifice: Mother bear kills her cub and then herself to save her from a life of torture (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2025388/China-Tortured-mother-bear-kills-cub-herself.html#ixzz1VDYUUMSH)
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 12th August 2011

A mother bear has reportedly strangled her cub and then killed herself by running head first into a wall to save them both from a life of torture.

The bears were reportedly having their gall bladders milked daily for 'bear bile' which is used in traditional Chinese medicine to remove 'heat' from the body as well as to treat liver ailments and sore eyes.

The bile, a digestive juice, is harvested through a permanent hole in the abdomen and gall bladder of Asiatic black bears, which, as it is open permanently, is susceptible to infections and diseases which can cause the animals unbearable pain.

This often leads bears trying to kill themselves by punching themselves in the stomach. To stop this they are fitted with iron vests.

It has been reported that the mother and cub were being kept in tiny cages known as 'crush cages' which restricted their movement, on a farm in a remote part of North-West of China, according to website Asia One.

One witness told Reminbao.com that the mother bear broke out of its cage when it heard her cub in distress before a worker punctured its stomach to milk the bile.

The mother bear rushed to its cub and hugged it until it eventually strangled it before running head-first into a wall, killing itself.

According to Singapore Seen, the witness, who has not been named, said: 'When a worker wanted to open up her cub’s stomach, the mother bear broke open the cage and went after the cub.

'After failing to release the chained cub, she hugged the cub.

'Then, the mother bear killed the cub to save it from a life of hell.'

Bears can be farmed for their bile for around 20 years, before they stop producing it and are killed.