Hero Cow Escaped Slaughterhouse For The Island Life

This story has a sad, poignant ending, but it's important to remember that it's not how long you live, but the amount of life you cram into it while you're here. Case in point: This heroic Limousin beef cow, who escaped from a slaughterhouse to hide out on an island for a whole month before getting recaptured.

In January, this cow fled "as it was to be transported to a slaughterhouse," ramming a metal fence and breaking the arm of a worker who had came to cart her away. "It gained celebrity status as it defended its life and freedom, tricking searchers, swimming from island to island and roaming a lake-filled region near Nysa, in southwestern Poland," according to The Washington Post.

The BBC notes that when she was "found on the shores of Lake Nyskie, the bovine refused to be recaptured. 'I saw her diving under water,'" said her owner, a farmer known only as Mr. Lukasz.

The cow soon obtained hero status, as any calls to have her killed "have been met with opposition," says the BBC. "A local politician, Pawel Kukiz, has even stepped in and offered to save the 'hero cow' from death."

Sadly, the cow's lucky streak ran out yesterday, when "a team of five, including a veterinarian" attempted to transport the cow to a "a local governor's farm where it was to be kept," according to The Washington Post. But she died on the truck on the way to the farm due to "stress," after receiving many shots of sedatives. Too bad this team forgot the old adage, "if you love something, set it free": Why not just leave that cow out there, happily swimming from island to island? Still, though, after a life of captivity, we can only imagine that this cow managed to live more in that one month than most cows get to in a lifetime.