Sumatra cow almost jumps over the moon

Sumatra cow almost jumps over the moon

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Funny tales marked the celebration of Idul Adha (Islamic Day of Sacrifice) on Monday, at least in the Riau capital of Pekanbaru and the North Sumatra capital of Medan.

A water buffalo and a cow proved unwilling to be sacrificial animals and fled from the butcher's block, sparking confusion among locals.

In the Riau capital of Pekanbaru, the water buffalo was eventually recaptured on Monday morning after escaping from the grounds of a mosque and roaming the streets for five hours.

The story began on Sunday night when a butcher tried to slaughter the buffalo. The animal broke loose from its rope and escaped the grounds of the Al Rahman mosque in Pekanbaru.

It frightened several people on the street who jumped into a sewage ditch to hide, Antara state news agency reported on Monday.

The committee of the Idul Adha celebration and local residents tried to corner the buffalo with three trucks, but to no avail.

It was finally caught five hours later a few kilometers from the mosque, and its legs were tired with rope and it was promptly slaughtered on the spot.

A similar incident occurred in Medan. Here, a cow escaped slaughter at a mosque on Jl. Medan-Tembung. The cow ran a few kilometers but was quickly recaptured.

Nonetheless, its escape unsettled locals, especially the committee of the Idul Adha celebration in the mosque.

On Sunday and Monday, 2,942 cows and 1,246 goats were slaughtered in Medan to mark Idul Adha.

Thousands of cows, buffaloes and goats are slaughtered each year for the Idul Adha celebration in Indonesia. The meat is distributed among the poor.