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A rogue cow led authorities on a wild chase around Edmonton Tuesday afternoon before being recaptured.

Around 11:30 a.m. officers were alerted that a calf had escaped from its owners at Farmfair at the Edmonton Expo Centre.

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Around 3 p.m. the animal was cornered in a yard near 101 Street and 113 Avenue but then it escaped the yard and ran. With authorities in hot pursuit in vehicles, it galloped across the Spruce Avenue School grounds towards NAIT.

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The bolting bovine caused a furor in central Edmonton Tuesday earlier in the hour.

At 2 p.m., police and fire personnel responded in force after receiving reports of the young cow on the loose.

By 2:20 p.m., people were uploading video from their cellphones that showed a young caramel-coloured cow trotting around a corner at a busy intersection, loping through a residential area, and hoofing it to dodge a handful of Edmonton Police Service pickups and vans and fire vehicles parked at wild angles in an effort to curtail the cow’s bid for freedom.

A number of uniformed personnel were herding the confused beast in what appeared to be futile efforts to chase and corral it with at least one person sporting a whip.

Response on X (formerly Twitter) was lively with astonishment — and beefs about the Edmonton Police Service.

@AlexiasxMoss posted, “We’re giving them another 45 million a year and they’re chasing cows …”

“Active shooter: no cops. Cow doing nothing, all the cops,” posted @nowimprunetracy.

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Finally, surrounded by a human livestock fence and police vehicles, the unhorned suspect was taken into custody at 106 Street and 113 Avenue.

“For the animal’s and the public’s safety, the EPS worked closely with animal care and control, Alberta Fish and Wildlife, Farmfair and a vet to contain the calf in a residential yard in the area of 113 Avenue and 106 Street,” said EPS spokesperson Carolin Maran.

Under the supervision of a vet, the calf was roped and tranquilized and has since been safely returned to its owner, Maran said.

No injuries (animal or human) or property damage had been reported.

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