Cow gets loose in Chicago suburb after senior prank goes awry

Niles, Ill.  - The steaks were high Thursday morning after a senior prank went awry, leading to a cow on the hoof through north suburban Chicago.

Video from a neighbor captured a loose cow trotting down the road as a group, later determined to be students, chased it. 

Niles police said students who attend Northridge Prep School "were apparently involved in what was described as a 'senior prank,' by bringing live animals to the school."

Police determined the students bought the cow and a pig on Craiglist. The pig was picked near Dixon, Illinois, and the cow was purchased near Winneconne, Wisconsin. 

Police said a student also brought chickens from home to the school as part of the prank.

The cow escaped and went through a neighborhood.

The animal was first described as a cow. But CBS 2 was later told the animal was a steer – a male bovine that has been castrated. But later still, a wrangler said the animal was indeed female after all, and was a heifer – a young cow that has not given birth.

Around 9:15 a.m., police were seen on video wrestling the cow and capturing it. 

Police worked with Wagner Farms in nearby Glenview to secure the cow. Wagner Farms can't take possession of the cow, so it will be taken to Hooved Animals Humane Society in Woodstock, Illinois. 

The students responsible were cited for curfew violation, disorderly conduct, animal feces accumulation, and prohibited animal species in connection to the incident, police confirmed. The school administration refused to pursue any criminal charges. 

Roger Plummer was on his way home from his WBBM Radio shift when he captured the cow on video. 

"When I looked up I thought, 'is that cow running down the street?' Plummer said. 

He said he saw about a half dozen young men running. 

"I yelled out of course, 'Why is a cow running down the street?'" Plummer said. 

Someone told him, "I'm sorry sir, sometimes things like this happen." 

In:
• Chicago
• Illinois