Xiao Xinxing pointed at the herd of cows helplessly. Two family cows have "betrayed" him and turned into wild cows.
The island where the 55 wild cows reside is locally known as Nanhu Jing Island, located in the Wanlu Lake area. It takes about 20 minutes by a chartered boat from the new port of Wanlu Lake to reach the island. There are no scheduled boats to or from the island; villagers use their own small boats for transportation. Xiao Xinxing is a resident of the island and the owner of this herd of wild cows, but these wild cows have completely rebelled against him. He joked: "Family cows have become wild cows, with each cow worth over ten thousand yuan. I see piles of money floating around on the mountain every day but can't catch them."
How did he turn his family cows into wild ones? Mr. Xiao explained that Nanhu Jing Island is very large, covering hundreds of thousands of square meters. After the Wanlu Lake area was redeveloped, most of the farmers moved to the city to live, leaving only a few villagers on the island. In the year 2000, he bought 20 water buffaloes and let them graze freely on the island. Later, he purchased a few more calves. The local custom is to give cows plenty of freedom without constant supervision. Cows would go up the mountain in the morning to eat grass and return home by themselves in the evening. He said that the group of cows originally followed the rules well, and even if some were a bit mischievous, they would be found within a month. In 2004, he moved to the city and visited the island less frequently.
In 2008, Mr. Xiao remembered that there was still a herd of cows on the mountain and wanted to catch them to sell. However, he discovered that the young calves had grown into adult bulls. Over the years, with continuous reproduction, the herd had grown significantly, reaching a total of 55 heads. This herd of wild cows also split into three "gangs," each occupying its own territory.
Wild Cows Defeat the Buffalo Catching Team
This unexpected wealth came with a problem — the buffalo herd had completely reverted to their wild nature. Whenever anyone approached the herd, the male buffaloes would charge and gore at people, and they no longer recognized their owner. Mr. Xiao recounted an incident where he was chased fiercely by a bull and only managed to escape by climbing a tree.
This made Mr. Xiao worried: the domesticated cows had turned wild, yet they were still legally his property. If they injured someone, he would still be held responsible. In March 2008, Mr. Xiao recruited local villagers to catch the buffaloes. During one of the encirclements, several robust water buffaloes not only refused to flee but instead charged towards the capturers. Luckily, the capturers escaped just in time, or the consequences could have been severe. After several attempts, Mr. Xiao failed to capture even a single hair from the buffaloes. He then offered a reward for buffalo-catching experts. On December 20th of the same year, a team of twenty buffalo catchers arrived in great numbers to try their luck. However, they were ultimately defeated by the wild buffaloes.
Controversy Over Whether to Hunt the Wild Buffaloes
Mr. Xiao stated that nine groups of people had already helped him capture the buffaloes, but only one calf was caught. With no other options, he sought help from the government. He submitted an application requesting assistance from the public security department to use firearms to deal with the wild buffaloes. He mentioned that if the wild buffaloes were captured, the older bulls would be sold, while the younger ones would be kept in captivity. A relevant official from the Xinfeng Town of Dongyuan County confirmed that the local government had received Mr. Xiao's request and took the matter seriously, submitting a report to the county police department for assistance.
Upon learning about the story of the 55 wild buffaloes on the Wanlu Lake island, some local citizens suggested that it wasn't necessary to specifically hunt down the wild buffaloes. Instead, a hunting zone could be established on the island, charging admission fees for people to hunt. Others believed that wild buffaloes are not like wild boars, and randomly hunting them would be too cruel. They proposed relocating the villagers off the island, allowing the wild buffaloes to grow freely, and transforming the island into a "wild buffalo island" to attract tourists. Since Wanlu Lake is already a tourist area, this would add another attraction. According to the Yangcheng Evening News,
One "cow expert" in Heyuan, Guangdong, turned his domesticated cows into wild ones, with a herd size reaching 55 heads. These wild buffaloes rampage across an island in Wanlu Lake, posing a threat to the safety of the villagers. The owner offered rewards to anyone who could capture the buffaloes, but due to their fierce nature, not even a single hair was caught. Attempts at forceful capture failed, so the owner decided to outsmart the buffaloes. However, the buffaloes proved to be intelligent enough to recognize traps and snares and avoided them altogether. Helpless, the owner recently sought assistance from the government, requesting the police to shoot the wild buffaloes.