'Injured and aggressive' water buffalo on the loose in Iowa town; police warn residents to stay away

A water buffalo is on the loose in an Iowa town, and police are warning people that it is injured and aggressive.

Police in the Des Moines suburb of Pleasant Hill responded Saturday to a call about an animal in the road. It turned out to be a water buffalo, and the owner told police the animal was aggressive.

That proved to be the case when police and animal rescue and control groups began trying to contain the water buffalo and return it to the owner's property. Those efforts "led the animal to show its aggressiveness toward Pleasant Hill officers which resulted in one round being fired from a shotgun, injuring the animal," police said in a Facebook posting on Monday.

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The wounded water buffalo got away. Police used drones and ATVs to try and find it and brought in people with expertise in water buffaloes. As of Tuesday morning, the animal was still on the lam in the town of about 11,000 residents.

"If anyone sees a Water Buffalo, DO NOT APPROACH IT," police said on Facebook.

Water buffaloes can weigh up to 2,650 pounds, according to the website for National Geographic, though the Iowa animal appears smaller in photos. Often domesticated, the water buffalo is the largest member of the Bovini tribe, which includes yak, bison, African buffalo, various species of wild cattle, and others, the website said.