New Zealand Cows Rescued: Earthquake Survivors Of The Bovine Kind

New Zealand cows that survived a major earthquake were rescued, much to the relief of animal lovers throughout the world, after images of the stranded cows went viral across social media and news sites.

As CNN reported, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked New Zealand’s South Island on November 14, striking the seaside community of Kaikoura. The earthquake triggered a tsunami, landslides, and numerous aftershocks in its wake, including a second earthquake that registered at 6.2 on the Richter scale. At least two people were confirmed dead following the earthquake, and thousands were left stranded. Helicopters were deployed to survey damage and rescue survivors. Three individuals quickly garnered media attention when footage from one of these helicopters hit the internet. These three individuals were some of the survivors. These three individuals were New Zealand cows.

Three New Zealand cows were discovered atop an elevated, grass-covered island that had formed as a result of the landslides. The cows were blissfully grazing when the earthquake struck, and the earth surrounding the patch of grass that held their appetite-driven attention crumbled away. Their virtual dinner plate held together, but rescue efforts had to be delayed out of concerns that the island would crumble, endangering the lives of rescue workers as well as the cows. The family of two adult cows and one calf remained marooned on their precarious island for a full day.

Did the New Zealand cows sense the impending earthquake before it struck, and did they sense that they would be safe on that patch of grass? Scientists have been researching the anecdotal reports of behavioral changes in wild and domestic animals prior to earthquakes and tsunamis. Some of the tales include accounts of cows that moved to unusual or specific locations before an earthquake occurred.

According to the United States Geological Survey, animals — including cows and unlike humans — may possess the ability to sense the P wave of seismic activity that precedes the S wave that humans experience as the earthquake. While these P register seconds, not days, before an earthquake, scientists are researching other possible changes that may occur much earlier within the earth’s surface or in the atmosphere before an earthquake that only animals with higher sensory perception can detect.

The New Zealand cows belonged to Derrick Millton, a farmer who lost other members of his livestock to the earthquake. According to NewsHub, the bucolic pasture of Millton’s farm, composed of limestone bluff beneath its verdure cover, is situated right on top of a fault line. The earthquake actually lifted a portion of this pasture, pushing part of it to a different spot while other parts were swallowed into a chasm of rubble. It is believed that the three cows essentially surfed the portion of land that was pushed away.

The Hereford cows are now back on a firmer, flatter, and greener pasture, reunited with the remainder of Millton’s surviving agricultural brood that includes sheep and other cows. The New Zealand cows were among 14 other stranded cows that were rescued. As soon as it was declared reasonably safe to do so, Millton, with the help of several other people, took up their shovels to dig a path that would lead the cows home. The task was not too laborious since the freshly churned dirt was now soft and loose.

The cows were traumatized from their adventure, but their owner was able to coax them from the spot where they had huddled for safety to their awaiting farm and water trough. While they had grass to nibble on their tiny sanctuary, they had no access to water throughout the ordeal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4kD8-JzeCs

New Zealand cows are abundant in the farming region, and other stranded cows are being discovered during helicopter surveillance. Like Millton’s three cows, others remain perched on puny plateaus as they await their own rescues. As for Millton’s New Zealand cows, they are quiet, none the worse for wear, and are now international celebrities — and earthquake survivors — of the bovine kind.

Earthquake: More cows stranded on an outcrop of land after three saved https://t.co/myl8BERtTB pic.twitter.com/IadOUPSXRB

— Stuff (@NZStuff) November 15, 2016

[Featured Image by Newshub/AP Images]