Wounded water buffalo still on the lam in Iowa

    PLEASANT HILL, Iowa (KCCI) -- A water buffalo — yes, a water buffalo — got loose from its pen in Pleasant Hill and was seen wandering through several properties over the weekend.

Madison Pottebaum said a police officer was in her backyard Saturday asking if she had seen the water buffalo. She thought the question was a joke at first. Thirty minutes later, however, she saw the animal with her very own eyes.

"I look up and the water buffalo's just staring at me," Pottebaum said.

She said her dogs started barking and eventually the water buffalo ran off. She said the animal should be the neighborhood's mascot.

"We could put it on the flag, it could be the Christmas ornament this year, the theme," Pottebaum said.

Pleasant Hill police said they first encountered the animal around 10 a.m. Saturday in the 2000 block of NE 56th Street, and attempted to help guide it back to its owner's property. But the animal evaded capture and headed further into the city.

"It became aggressive and the Pleasant Hill PD fired one shotgun round striking and injuring the animal," Pleasant Hill police said in a news release. "The water buffalo fled and was last seen in Little Fourmile Creek heading southbound in the vicinity of Scott Ave and Oakwood Blvd."

Authorities say if you see the injured water buffalo, do not approach it. Instead, call PHPD at 515-265-1444.

Water buffalo are native to southeast Asia, approximately 9,000 away from Des Moines.