SEVIER COUNTY, Utah – If you see a baby cow, Utah authorities are asking you not to pick it up or take it home.
Livestock brand inspectors said it may appear the calf has been abandoned by its mother but that is not the case.
Officials said this time of year cows give birth and sometimes the mother is not near the calf but it has not been abandoned by the herd, as some say it appears.
UDAF brand inspector, Shyrel Baker, said a Sevier County cattle rancher contacted her after retrieving one of his calves from someone who took home the animal thinking it was abandoned by its mother.
“The person, who had good intentions, saw the calf in some brush and took it home, believing it was left behind,” Baker said. “Luckily there was an ear tag on the calf that contained the owner’s phone number.”
Baker said you are actually putting the calf at risk if you take it home.
Officials said mother cows leave their calves in a location while they go off to feed.
When they return, and can’t find their calf, they will search and call out to the animal for days.
