An escaped cow responsible for destroying crops and plant machinery over a two year period on the run has finally been caught.
Matylda escaped in 2013 from Leszek Zasada’s farm in Zloty Stok, western Poland the day after he brought her home. Several nearby farmers cited the brown bovine bandit, described by Polish media as a ‘master of survival’, as responsible for extensive damage on their properties, but none had been able to put an end to her rampaging ways.
Efforts to coax Matylda back included chasing her on horseback, laying snares and pursuing her with dogs.
Mr Zasada spoke of his relief at her return and revealed that he set an elaborate series of traps for the cow, but nearly all of them failed.
“We tried to chase her on horseback and also with dogs but it didn’t work,” he told tvn24.
Shooting the animal was out of the question because it is prohibited under Polish law – so in the end Mr Zasada tried a more unorthodox solution.
“For a few days I tried courting the cow. I would bring her salt, apples and cabbage, and it worked.”
Something of a folk hero amongst Poland’s non-farming community while on the run, Matylda’s life over the past two years had clearly not been easy. She returned covered in scars and had lost a calf she had been spotted with.
