Police warn 'aggressive' water buffalo has been on the loose for days in this state

Police in Iowa are warning residents to stay away from a "dangerous," injured water buffalo that has been on the loose since Saturday.

The Pleasant Hill Police Department said officers had responded to a call Saturday about an "animal in the road" in the city, located about six miles east of Des Moines. The animal turned out to be an "aggressive" water buffalo, according to its owner, police said.

The police department said an officer shot the animal, injuring it, after the water buffalo showed "aggressiveness" toward responding officers. The animal was then able to escape, police said.

Officers were working with the Des Moines Animal Control to contain the animal and return it to its owner's property, though did not have "tranquilizers or equipment to handle such a unique situation," the police department said in a statement Monday on Facebook.

Pleasant Hill police said that they are employing ATVs to search bicycle trails and along Little Fourmile Creek, where it was last seen as of Monday afternoon. They are also partnering with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to use their drone technology and with "local individuals who have expertise in containing this type of animal," they said.

"The safety of the Pleasant Hill community is our top priority," police said. "With a dangerous animal loose in our community, we are using all resources available to keep our community safe and attempt to return the animal to its owner, if possible."

The Iowa Farm Sanctuary said in a statement on Facebook Monday that if the injured water buffalo is found alive, they "will be doing everything we can to ensure we can get him to the vet immediately."

According to the Iowa Farm Sanctuary, which indicated it is in touch with the owner of the property the water buffalo escaped from, the animal initially got loose while being loaded for meat processing.

The group, which nicknamed the animal "Hank" in its Facebook post, said they ultimately hope to bring the animal to a sanctuary, though added that there "is the possibility the owner will go through with the original plan."

"We remain cautiously optimistic!" they said. "At this point, I think most of our state is rooting for a happy ending for Hank!"

Amid the search, the water buffalo was seen on Ring footage on Monday near the front door of a home in Pleasant Hill. A Pleasant Hill resident also filmed the animal in his backyard on Monday.

Police urged anyone who sees the animal to not approach it and call the Pleasant Hill Police Department at 515-265-1444.