Escaped Piatt County buffalo prompt warning from wildlife expert

MONTICELLO, Ill. (WAND) – One of the deadliest and largest land mammals in North America is on the roam in Piatt County. The Piatt County Sheriff’s Office is warning those in the Beals Subdivision of about Buffalo.

Several of the animals broke free from Liebs Farms northeast of town Wednesday and four are still on the roam.

"Stay out of their way,” Richie Wolf, Executive Director of the Rock Springs Nature Center, said. “That is our main advice we would give anybody. They are a threat if you get between them, and their calf, especially if they are not used to people."

The animals were able to escape after a latch on the gate to their pin broke. They are believed to be hanging out in a thick area of timber.

"They're probably headed over to Macon County by now,” Monticello School Superintendent Vic Zimmerman said.

The buffalo required a couple of Zimmerman’s buses to have to find an alternative route Wednesday morning while crews searched for the animal. Some students were a few minutes late to class because of the search.

"Every day is a different day in school districts,” Zimmerman said. “We're dealing with COVID. Didn't think we'd be dealing with a loose herd of buffalo in Piatt County. We've had a random cow or two cross the road, but no buffalo herds."

Buffalo are not a common sight in Illinois, but Wolf said they are native to the state, and a wrong encounter with them can be deadly.

"They have the equipment to do a lot of damage to you,” Wolf said. “They look big and slow and cumbersome, but they can run up to 40 miles per hour."

Wolf said the horns of a buffalo can gore a human, and the animal’s skull is just as dangerous.

“The head is solid bone,” he said. “If you get rammed, you're going to be in trouble."

The owners of the Buffalo, Lieb Farms, believe the four remaining buffalo left to roam will have to come out of the thick timber on their own and that could be hours, weeks, or longer.

"Never try and approach a buffalo or bison or animals of that size,” Wolf said. “Any wild animal of that size can be dangerous."

Lieb Farms have setup trail cameras to monitor the animals. Anyone who may encounter them should call the Piatt County Sheriff’s Office.