Sweet Cow-Stuck-In-Tree Rescue By Contra Costa Chopper Crew

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – "Talk about luck and timing," the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office said, referencing an unusual "rescue" maneuver performed last week by the the air crew of the department's STARR1 helicopter

While training in Round Valley near Los Vaqueros in east Contra Costa County, the pilot spied what appeared to be a cow with its head stuck in a tree, deputies said.

"STARR1 did several orbits and could see the calf struggling, but its head was indeed stuck in an old tree trunk," the agency said. "Two air crew members 'skid rode' to a hill near the calf and as they walked near it they could see it struggling to get itself free."

In a very simple, but touching, gesture by these crew members, the animal was released from its predicament and ran free.

"It's unknown how long it was stuck there, but the edges of the tree where it was stuck seemed rounded off like it had been there a while," deputies said.

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--Image courtesy of the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office