Cow Falls From Trailer and Roams Lansing for Hours

There are plenty of things you expect to see while driving down US-127 in Lansing.

Construction. Traffic. Someone doing something questionable in the left lane.

A cow probably isn't very high on the list of things you'd expect to see. Unless you were on US-127 on Wednesday morning, after a cow apparently fell from a livestock trailer and ended up roaming around the Lansing area for several hours.

Cow Falls From Livestock Trailer on US-127

According to Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter, the cow had been improperly secured during transport. The person hauling the animal reportedly didn't realize it was missing until reaching their destination more than an hour away.

Meanwhile, Lansing was experiencing a symptom of loose cow disease on the highway.

Cow Wanders Into Lansing Neighborhoods

The animal eventually moved away from the highway and into nearby residential neighborhoods, even making its way near Robert L. Green Elementary School.

Students were kept inside during recess as a precaution, and dismissal was temporarily delayed while police and animal control tried to get the situation under control.

Police and Animal Control Try to Contain the Cow

Officials made multiple attempts to chemically immobilize the cow, including bringing a veterinarian to the scene.

Those attempts did not work.

Animal control said the cow continued moving through the neighborhood and broke through multiple fences, creating an increase in safety concerns as it moved through populated areas.

Loose Cow Incident Ends Tragically

Unfortunately, the situation ended badly.

Officials ultimately determined the cow could not be safely contained, and local law enforcement euthanized the animal using a firearm.

Animal control called it an unfortunate outcome and said repeated attempts had been made to secure the cow before the decision was made.

The incident temporarily shut down the ramp from northbound US-127 to Lake Lansing Road.