As uncommon as it may seem, 120 bison found their way out of a feedlot in Phelps County, Nebraska on August 25th, 2020.
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Phelps County Sheriff Gene Samuelson is leading the rescue operation to find the bison and protect locals while investigating the event. A specialized company in dealing with bison was hired by the bison’s owner to find them, group them, and bring them back to the feedlot. The company arrived in Phelps on Thursday morning to help.
“At this time we are trying to keep them in one location. The sheriff’s office main goal is to keep them off the highways. The owner of the buffalo is rounding up cowboys and other farmers to help out. They are getting four-wheelers and horses,” Lieutenant Jamie Tilson from the sheriff’s office told NebraskaTV.
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Rounding the bison up won’t be an easy task. Some of the bison are in groups of 30 to 40, others are in groups of five and some are in groups of two.
“People don’t realize how agile they are. They are fast. They are agile and right at the moment they are very upset,“ Sheila Seyfried explained to NebraskaTV.
An airplane was called in to help locate the buffalo from the sky, while people on foot and horses are trying to group the bison. To protect locals as well as motorists, Nebraska State Patrol asked drivers to slow down and be cautious on Highway 23, 6, and 34.
“The danger is we can’t turn these animals. We can’t even drive them. We have got eight horses out here and they get out in these bean fields and all they want to do is go south. So, motorists when you are getting around Highway 23 and Highways 6 and 34 which is further south down by the county line slow down because there is nothing we can do with these animals right now,” Sheriff Samuelson told NebraskaTV.