Spring calving risks high
By Michael Johnson, Editor
Two local reports of cows attacking ranchers in the area serves as a warning to those working with cattle to be extra cautious. Glenda Scholl, who ranches about 10 miles west of Washburn, knows of one such cow that she won’t be dealing with next spring. This cow that she could have fed grain from her hand last fall, turned defensive last week when she checked on the cow and her calf with her son and daughter. Glenda said her son, Allan, had checked on and tagged the calf shortly after it was born. When they returned to bring the cow and calf closer to home, things got hairy in a hurry. The cow decided it needed to defend the calf and struck Allan to the ground. She continued to roll him over and crush him under her weight. It took a tap from the four wheeler to finally get the cow off him. When Allan finally got up and jumped on the four-wheeler to escape, he had a broken jaw, broken shoulder blade and several cracked ribs.
