Cows

'Content not to be caught': Betsy the cow escaped the rodeo and has wandered Alaska for months

USA TODAY

Somewhere in the snowy hills of Alaska, a rogue rodeo cow named Betsy has been eluding capture for about seven months. Her owner Frank Koloski would like her back now.

Koloski, a rodeo promoter, said Betsy escaped the night before a junior rodeo event last June. The three-year-old bovine made a mad dash for the grassy trails of a skiing area about a mile away and Koloski has been looking for her ever since.

Not even the Anchorage Police Department, with two different drones equipped with high-definition video cameras, could manage to locate the cow on Tuesday, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The police, who aided in the search as part of a training exercise, called it quits after about two hours.

Throughout the summer, Koloski said he spent "countless hours and days" looking for her. Reported sightings started to die down in the fall, but he said around last November he started getting calls and seeing posts about Betsy on social media again.

Since then, Betsy has become somewhat of a local celebrity. She’s been spotted along the trails frequented by cross-country skiers and flat-tire bikers.

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"I’m very hopeful," he said. "I don't feel she’s really on a mission not to be caught, but she's content not to be caught."

The ski resort where Betsy is likely hiding out has more than 4,000 acres of land and 100 miles of trail, making her almost impossible to find, according to Koloski.

In this Dec. 26, 2018 photo provided by Meg Kurtagh shows a cow in the middle of on the east side of Anchorage. A rodeo cow named Betsy has evaded capture for months as she wanders the trails of Alaska's biggest city, the cow's owner said. The 3-year-old cow "busted out" of a pen before participating in junior events at the Father's Day Rodeo in Anchorage, rodeo promoter Frank Koloski told the Anchorage Daily News. Betsy headed to the Hilltop Ski Area and was spotted grazing on slopes during the summer, Koloski said. She then moved to the network of trails that crisscross the Anchorage Hillside when snow fell.

Koloski said she appears to be surviving very well and he's not too worried about potential predators, given that bears are hibernating this time of year. He said Betsy seems to be eating fine, but just in case, he's left out salt licks and hay bales for her.

"She’s very self sufficient," he said. "Living the high life."

Although Betsy seems to be acclimating to her new home, Koloski has devised a plan to get her back when he tracks her down. Once he locates her, Koloski plans to bring in other cattle from her herd. He expects she will run towards them and he will be able to pen her in — although that may be easier said than done.

"She went on the run," Koloski said. "It's like finding a needle in a haystack."

Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg

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