R.I. Steer No Longer on the Lam

The saga of the steer that escaped the slaughterhouse in Rhode Island has come to a close. The animal—which had been on the lam since early February—was corralled Friday in the town of Johnston the Providence Journal reports. During its 48 days of freedom, the steer was spotted several times—once startling an Uber driver one early morning, per the AP. “I look to my left, and there was a cow there, just hanging out, waiting for the red light! When it turned green, the cow goes!” the driver said at the time. Ledyard Lewis, the animal’s owner, was able to capture 1,500-pound bovine early Friday morning, according to WPRI. He took it back to his farm in Connecticut.

The beast’s future remains unclear, per the Journal. But thousands of people have signed a petition calling for the “Johnston Cow” to be allowed to live out its days at an animal sanctuary. “This guy wants to live so badly and we think he's earned the right to live out the rest of his days in peace,” petition organizer and Johnston resident Victoria Ferruccio-Flores wrote. Mike Stura, who operates a sanctuary in New Jersey, also tried to catch the steer, saying that Lewis told him that if he did wrangle the animal that he could keep it. However, he tells the Journal, that he is unsure what will happen now. “This farmer would be a hero if he let him go” to the sanctuary, he says.

(More weird news stories.)