Buffalo get loose in Hot Springs again, but are quickly re-corralled

FILE PHOTO: Four escaped buffaloes stand in the 300 block of Whispering Hills Road on April 16th before running into the woods.
FILE PHOTO: Four escaped buffaloes stand in the 300 block of Whispering Hills Road on April 16th before running into the woods.

Four buffalo escaped from an enclosure in Hot Springs early Monday but were quickly re-caught, officials said.

Dan Bugg, director of the Hot Springs Animal Services Department, said three adult buffalo and one young one managed to get out in the area of the 700 block of Ridgeway Street sometime before sunrise but had been re-secured by 7:30 a.m.

Bugg said he believes they were some of the same animals who escaped from a pen in April, which set off a lengthy effort to re-corral the large creatures. Three were tranquilized and recaptured that day after they were spotted running through neighborhoods. A fourth died after being hit by a car, a fifth was later found dead and the final buffalo died after being caught nearly a month after the escape.

Bugg said he didn't have specifics on how the buffalo got out Monday morning or how they were recaptured. He said it was fortunate that they didn't quickly separate into different parts of the area.

"They don't herd like cattle or livestock," he said. "We were not looking forward to another day like we had last time."

Four buffalo are pictured in the file photograph above. An earlier version of the caption listed an incorrect number of buffalo.

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