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Cow captured after 5 months on the lam

MILFORD, Conn., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A cow that had been on the run for five months has been captured in Connecticut, officials said.

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Wanda, a 1-year-old, 400-pound calf, was tranquilized and captured Wednesday, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported. She's now living on a farm in Oxford.

A team of 15 people had been feeding Wanda every day since July at a location in Milford, Rick George, director of animal control said. They set up a feeding pen weeks ago to get her comfortable with the enclosure before closing in Wednesday night.

Wanda was not injured during the capture but suffered a bloody nose in her attempt to get out of the pen, George said.

She had previously escaped capture twice when a nearby herd of deer tipped her off to the presence of animal control officers. The deer, which have more acute senses, would stomp on the ground, notifying Wanda of possible danger, George said.

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Reindeer escape, run across Texas highway

WEBSTER, Texas, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Two reindeer escaped after the gate popped open on the trailer they were riding in, and bounded through traffic across a Texas highway, police said.

The reindeer were being transported Tuesday along Interstate 45 in Webster when the trailer unhitched and the gate came open, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday. Before the driver could pull over, the animals jumped out, ran across the freeway and feeder road, stopping in a nearby park and ride lot.

Police responded and blocked the feeder road to keep the reindeer from running back into traffic.

"We did get several phone calls," Webster Police Chief Ray Smiley said. "The first couple we didn't believe."

A woman accompanying the trailer's driver -- the owner of a petting zoo -- corralled the animals back to the trailer. No injuries to the deer were reported.


Yo-Yo Ma meets Chicago wombat

CHICAGO, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma was photographed alongside Brookfield Zoo's Wilbur the Wombat at a Chicago benefit.

Peter Sagal, host of NPR's "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" snapped the picture in the wombat's dressing room at the Chicago Community Trust's 96th anniversary event Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday.

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Donna LaPietra, the event's producer, said Ma requested a "meet and greet" with the wombat when he heard the animal was going to be at the event to showcase the zoo.

"He was done doing the rehearsal with the orchestra on stage and joined Wilbur in his dressing room," she said. "Next thing you know he's just down on the floor."


Thieves arrested after 911 'pocket dial'

MADISON, Wis., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Police in Wisconsin said they arrested two men on retail theft charges after one of their phones accidentally called 911 while in its owner's pocket.

Madison police said the "pocket dial" allowed officers to listen as Jason Hamielec, 29, and Brian Johnson, 28, discussed their 5:30 p.m. theft at the Junction Road Target store for about 54 minutes while driving away from the store in their sport utility vehicle, the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, reported Thursday.

The men, who described their vehicle during the accidental call, were arrested when they arrived at the Video X-Change on Atwood Ave.

Hamielec and Johnson were charged with retail theft.

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