An escaped bison was captured on video by Mark Stage of Cary as the animal ran north on Darrell Road in September.
Driving through Cary on a pitch-black November night, Lisa Booth spotted two widely spaced eyes shining brightly on the side of the road.
She slowed down and pulled over — just in time to see an 800-pound buffalo ambling away.
“I sincerely had to look at my son and say, ‘are we dreaming this?’” she said.
An American buffalo that escaped from a Wauconda farm in September — and has remained on the lam ever since — is making a name for herself in the Cary area, an hour northwest of Chicago, with citizens posting photos and videos of her on Facebook, along with jokes and statements of support. A local artist has painted a portrait of the wily bovine — dubbed Billy by her fans.
Island Lake police posted video of an officer’s encounter with “our beloved Island Lake bison,” who has proved “as elusive as Sasquatch.”
As the owners’ search for their buffalo has proceeded through farms and forest preserves, with the McHenry County Conservation District at one point even deploying a drone, Billy’s legend has grown. Fans marvel at her feats — she appears to have crossed the Fox River — as well as her outlaw spirit, her love of freedom and her penchant for surprise appearances.
In this screenshot from a video, an American buffalo that escaped from a Wauconda farm in September was captured on video by Mark Stage of Cary as the animal ran north on Darrell Road in September. (HANDOUT)
“I never thought in a million years there would be some giant animal running around the suburbs like this,” said Nichole Campbell, 33, the local artist who painted Billy.
Island Lake police have asked that local residents obey speed limits and stay alert to avoid hitting Billy. Billy’s co-owner Scott Comstock, of Milk & Honey Farmstead in Wauconda, asked that the public steer clear of the buffalo, although taking a photo from a distance is fine.
Buffalo escapes have been reported in other states, including New York and Nebraska, and a Canadian runaway named Freddy inspired a song.
Billy escaped in September, when she and her sister, both under a year old, were delivered to Milk & Honey, a chemical-free farm and co-op, according to another of her co-owners, Bob Kryscha.
Billy escaped when she was released from the trailer, according to Kryscha. Billy’s sister was unloaded successfully and has adjusted well to life on the farm, he said. The second buffalo has enthusiastically bonded with a herd of cows, even trying to mimic some of their behaviors, such as rolling on the ground.
Billy stayed in the area for a while, near a large farm to the north. But as the weather grew colder, she headed south to Cary, where the McHenry County Conservation District has kept an eye out for her.
After a sighting last week, Kryscha laid out bait for Billy in a McHenry County forest preserve, using an enticing grain mixture. McHenry County Conservation District police aided in the search, walking local trails to look for tracks and even deploying a drone, according to district marketing director Wendy Kummerer.
But once again, Billy evaded capture. Part of the problem, Kryscha said, is that buffaloes, a native species in Illinois, blend in so seamlessly with local grasses and trees.
Citizen reports of a buffalo on the loose began soon after Billy’s escape, with Mark Stage of Cary noting a big burly bovine proceeding north on Darrell Road in September. Stage stopped his car and recorded video of Billy picking up speed and veering into a nearby field.
The escaped bison was captured on video by Mark Stage of Cary as the animal ran north on Darrell Road in September.
At the Cary-Grove Chat Facebook page, fans have posted photos of Billy galloping past a low-lying building, Billy grazing in a local backyard, and Billy enjoying a stroll through the woods.
Some posts on the private Facebook page are comical: “Has anyone tried the bison burger at (local gastropub) Duke’s Alehouse? I hear it’s really fresh,” Kevin Hoffman quipped.
“Heard we had a bison sighting in Cary. Can anyone confirm?,” Shelley Grzelak posted the next day. “P.S. I absolutely believe it’s not actually a bison and is secretly 5 coyotes in a bison costume. Those dang coyotes!”
Others have cheered the bison on — “Go Billy!” — or debated her gender. She is definitely female, her owners say, but she doesn’t have a name yet.
Campbell, an artist and stay-at-home mom who has been following the saga, was moved to sketch Billy jumping over a fence to freedom. She added watercolor and titled her work “Free Billy,” a reference to “Free Willy,” the 1993 film about a 12-year-old boy’s attempt to free a captive killer whale.
Her post with the painting had so far gotten more than 550 likes on Facebook, and the Island Lake police cam video of a just barely visible Billy crossing the road at night had been viewed more than 15,000 times. (Billy appears in the distance, near the end of the video, crossing from left to right.)
Comstock said that he’s hoping for snow; the buffalo will be hungrier and easier to track. In the best-case scenario, she may wander into a barn, where it will be relatively easy to close the doors and capture her.
Some runaway buffaloes have been caught in an elaborate two-step procedure. They’re tranquilized, using special darts that can pierce their skin and contain special high-dose sedatives. Then an enclosure is built around the unconscious animal, along with a chute leading to a trailer or other enclosure.
When the animal is revived with a tranquilizer antidote, it is encouraged to run into the trailer.
Kryscha said he is considering that type of capture, but first the buffalo has to stay in an area long enough to be safely tranquilized.
Billy, who was purchased for breeding, would then return to the farm where her sister is already making herself at home. Her owners planned to breed her with a steer to produce beefalo, a hybrid animal with meat that’s higher in protein than beef.
Milk & Honey specializes in grass-fed beef and pastured pork, poultry and eggs. The farm also offers homegrown CBD tinctures and elderberry syrup.
Buffalo are herd animals, so Billy is probably lonely on her own, Kryscha said. Her sister is already mimicking the behavior of her new herd (of cattle): She’s been seen trying to roll on the ground to get dirt on her back, which doesn’t really work for a buffalo, given her hump. Billy’s sister has had more success in her attempts to prance like a horse.
Billy’s fans are divided as winter approaches, with some hoping she evades capture forever and others saying maybe it’s time to come in from the cold.
Lisa Booth called the police when she saw Billy walking down the street: “I didn’t want her to be harmed.” But she also texted friends and posted about the sighting on Facebook.
“It’s just fascinating,” she said. “I feel blessed that in my lifetime I was able to see this animal just walking around.”
nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com
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