© FF Wies, OLM Garber
08. 06. 12. - 18:09
Stinking feeling as firemen rescue calf
A calf ended up in a mess after sneaking out of the stall where it was kept with its mother - and falling into a pit used to collect manure in a barn at Deutschlandsberg in Austria.
A local fire brigade spokesman said: "The calf was lucky, the pit had been recently emptied and it could hold its head above the manure, just."
The farmer had noticed the calf missing and had been unable to find it on his farm.
He said: "They don't go far, if you have the mum you have the calf nearby, but I was surprised when I couldn't find it. Then when I went back to the barn I heard the mother cow call her calf - and was amazed when it answered from the manure pit. It was really forlorn."
Three firemen including the farmer, himself a member of the fire brigade, had to use heavy breathing apparatus to be lowered into the pit, and it took an hour before the calf could be pulled to safety.
Despite the manure coat the mother cow recognised her calf, although it will need a good rainy day before it looks - and smells - the same again.
