(Reuters) -A copper-colored bull who mysteriously wandered on to train tracks near a major New Jersey transit hub on Thursday, disrupting rail service to and from New York City, has been tranquilized and taken to a local animal sanctuary.
The bull, sporting a pair of long, pointy horns, astonished commuters near Newark’s Penn Station shortly before 11 a.m., when he was spotted wandering along train tracks sunken below a rail platform, according to videos posted to the X social media service.
Multiple law enforcement agencies eventually wrangled the bull and corralled him in a fenced lot near Newark Liberty International Airport, local media reported. A spokesperson for the Newark Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue in Wantage, New Jersey, said it had taken in the tranquilized bull and named him Ricardo.
“Safe, but heavily sedated,” the animal sanctuary said in a Facebook post, including a photo of the animal lying in a pile of hay, resting up after his morning out in the city.
There was still no word from authorities about where the bull may have come from or how he may have found his way onto the tracks. Local radio station WCBS 880 reported that he had escaped from a slaughterhouse, citing unnamed sources.
Pastoral farmland is non-existent in the urban neighborhood surrounding the terminal, although Newark is home to several meat-packing companies.
The bovine caused delays up to 45 minutes between Newark and New York City’s Penn Station on Thursday morning, affecting both Amtrak inter-city and NJ Transit commuter service, NJ Transit said on X.
Newark is not unfamiliar with the phenomenon of wandering bulls, however. Another stray steer was found near train tracks in New Jersey’s largest city in 2006, according to a New York Times report, eluding police for eight hours before being captured.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Frank McGurty, Bill Berkrot and Andrea Ricci)
