Posted on 10/12/2005 4:57:44 PM PDT by SmithL
SOQUEL, Calif. - A prized bull died after being shot in the neck with a metal arrow in an unsolved late-night attack, according to the bull's owner.
Norm Bei, who owns a Santa Cruz real estate firm, said he's offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest and prosecution of the person who used a bow and arrow to kill the Watusi bull.
Known as the "cattle of kings," Ankole-Watusi bulls first appeared about 6,000 years ago and were considered sacred by some African tribes, according to the Ankole Watusi International Registry.
Bei said his bull, which he bought a decade ago, weighed at least 1,600 pounds and had 5-foot-9-inch horns. The attack occurred Oct. 6 on Bei's 21-acre Soquel ranch, which is located between a church and a school, he said.
He said he suspects the shooter was not a child playing a prank because the ranch is surrounded by security wire and the shooter was likely more than 20 feet away.
"It had to be a perfect shot," he said. "It must have hit a nerve center. I don't think they intended to kill him."
Authorities are looking into the shooting, and the shooter could be charged with a felony for concealing a deadly weapon, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Sgt. Fred Plageman.
Make mine a porterhouse...medium.
If it was huunting season, and happened in my immediate area, it would have been a bunch of 'city slickers' or "Lands End Hunters" out being dumb thinking they found the mother of all deer, or a bear.
When does bow season open out in that area of California -if at all?
"I shot an arrow in the air; where it lands, I know not where."
CA: Man allegedly takes over train with bow and arrow in Montclair
AP - San Diego Union Tribune ^ | October 10, 2005 | AP
Oh that's terrible, poor bull, what a magnificent animal
Looks a little overdue for de-horning to me...
Excuse me sir, but you need to put at least two zeros behind that acreage number in order to be a "ranch". 21 acres is a big lot.
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