Forest Preserve Officials Urge Caution Amid Bison Sightings

WAUCONDA, IL — Visitors to the Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda should keep an eye out for a 1,300-pound bison who escaped from a local farm in September.

After several months roaming the northwest suburbs, Billy the Bison apparently has settled at the Lakewood Forest Preserve. As forest preserve officials and Billy's owner, Scott Comstock, try to get Billy off the property and back home they are also urging those who see her not to approach, try to capture, chase or try to pet her.

"Anyone who has any information or sighting about the animal should immediately contact the Lake County Forest Preserve Ranger Police," according to a statement from the forest preserve. Those who can provide information regarding a sighting can call 847-549-5200.

Meanwhile, forest preserve officials say Comstock needs to concoct a plan to get the giant animal off the Lakewood Forest Preserve property by Memorial Day weekend. With summer approaching, the 1,300-pound bison could pose a risk to visitors to the forest preserve in Wauconda, forest preserve district officials said.

“The goal is to have the farm animal removed by Memorial Day weekend when preserve attendance traditionally increases,” said John Tannahill, director of public safety at the Lake County Forest Preserves. “The safety of our users and the animal is our No. 1 priority. Bison, is considered domestic livestock, therefore a forest preserve is not an appropriate home."

Comstock, co-owner of Milk and Honey Farmstead in Wauconda, has been working with forest preserve ranger police to lure the bison with food into a barn so it can be closed and taken back home.

"She is so smart and so alert that when you get close to the door, she beats you to it," Comstock told the Daily Herald.

Tannahill said fines could be issued if Comstock can not get the bison off the property. So far, the animal has not approached any humans.

“However, with the busy summer season approaching, we have to get the bison off the property for everyone’s safety," he said.

There's also some concerns over equestrians' safety while riding at Lakewood Forest Preserve since Billy could spook horses, which could lead to riders being bucked off, according to the Daily Herald.

The Lake County Mounted Posse horse club has temporarily suspended riding at Lakewood because of this, Lynn Goodell, a board member and liaison to the forest preserve district, told the Daily Herald.

"People think it's a novelty," she told the newspaper. "They think it's kind of neat. No, it's not neat. What happens when someone gets killed?"

Forest preserve officials believe Billy first settled at Lakewood Forest Preserve at some point in April. Before that, the bison has been spotted several times roaming the area since her escape in September.

"It happened when we were unloading the bison at the farm and she got away," Comstock told Patch in November. "She went through a big swamp area, and I met up with her on the other side. And then she looked at me and started walking toward [Route] 176. I followed her and she just looked at me and said, 'See ya.'"

More via the Daily Herald

MORE ON PATCH

• Billy The Bison Spotted Near Her Farm, Being Lured With Food
• Billy The Bison Spotted Six Months After Her Escape
• Will Billy The Bison Make It Home For The Holidays?
• Elusive Bison Still Roaming Free