Eideard

Her sister, Waltraut, awaits her return

A runaway cow named Yvonne is on the loose in Germany and the manhunt — or moohunt — for the Bavarian bovine has captivated the country.

The freedom-loving cow ran away from a little farm in Bavaria in May and has managed to hide successfully in the forests of southern Germany ever since — despite her sturdy 1,500-pound (700-kilogram) figure.

Locals have reported a few sightings of the brown dairy cow with the white head, but every time search teams have tried to capture her, Yvonne had already hoofed it from the area. A helicopter equipped with a thermal camera used in search-and-rescue missions returned Thursday empty-handed.

Searchers have tried to lure Yvonne into the open with food, with the bellows of her son Friesi and her sister Waltraud, even with a prospective mate named Ernst. Scores of volunteers are combing upper Bavaria’s woods for her.

The six-year-old animal would have never made national headlines if it hadn’t been for a near-collision with a police car days after she broke away. The rural district office in Muehldorf reacted by labeling the big-eyed bovine a public danger and ordering her shot on sight.

That prompted animal-rights activists to rally to her defense. A Facebook page calling for Yvonne’s rescue had more-than 23,000 “likes” by Friday, and Germany’s biggest-selling newspaper, Bild, has offered a 10,000 euro reward on its front page for anyone who helps find Yvonne.

In the wake of all the attention, the order to shoot Yvonne has been suspended.

A animal sanctuary in Bavaria has bought Yvonne — sight unseen — from the farmer she escaped from and is now in charge of trying to find her. Hopefully they’re better at it than the silly buggers who have been trying.

UPDATE: Yvonne has surrendered and has been taken to the Gut Aiderbichi animal sanctuary to live out her days.