WATCH: Runaway South Carolina Cow Captured After ‘Lengthy Pursuit’

An escaped South Carolina cow is back with its owner following a “lengthy pursuit” by local police.

“If anyone is missing their cow, please contact Pickens Police Department,” officials said in a July 24 Facebook post, along with photos of the runaway farm animal casually hanging out in the local elementary school’s playground:

“It kind of went into the fence by itself,” officer Bill Russell told WLWT. “We went [to] open the gate and it just basically jumped the fence.”

Thinking that it was already safely captured, the morning crew came with a trailer to transport the cow home. 

That is when it escaped once again. 

“The cow got agitated, [it] did not want to go into the trailer, and then plowed back over the fence, and then ended up making its way back into highway eight,” Sergeant Braden Wimpy told the outlet. 

The animal was finally captured for a second time around 8:45 a.m. at the Historic Hampton House on Hampton Avenue, police said. 

“It went across highway eight, and I believe after running for quite a while, that it finally gave out, after it started hitting the pavement,” said Wimpy. “Then it actually climbed up the steps at the Historic Hampton House and just laid down.”

Finally, officers were able to rope the cow and lead it into a trailer. 

“After a lengthy pursuit through the night, this cow was captured and is in custody — possibly Ferdinand the Bull’s cousin,” Pickens police said in a Facebook update.