Officers spend hours chasing loose bull along Bay Area highway

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and a good Samaritan worked together to successfully wrangle a bull off of a busy Bay Area highway on Tuesday night.

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The California Highway Patrol called the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office to help secure the large animal that had gotten loose along Highway 35, the sheriff’s office wrote on social media. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office could not immediately respond to SFGATE’s request for comment regarding where on the highway the bull was located.

After hours of attempting to corral the bull on their own, which caused the animal to run off for several miles, sheriff’s deputies went to Sea Horse Ranch, a horseback riding stable, to find an expert.

Samuel Ramos Palomino, a foreman at the ranch with 35 years of experience, told SFGATE he was sleeping in his trailer around midnight when an officer came to his door and asked for help corralling the loose bull. Despite needing to be at work in a few hours, he said he agreed to help them because he was concerned for the safety of others while the bull was loose.

Palomino said officers knew to come to him because he had access to a horse trailer. 

“Public safety is a partnership, and sometimes our community members answer the call in extraordinary ways,” the sheriff’s office said.

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Palomino began preparing his truck and livestock trailer and worked alongside California Highway Patrol and the sheriff’s office. The team attempted to lasso the bull for several miles while it was still on the highway.

“I was just trying to help. The bull seemed a little scared,” Palomino said. 

Eventually, they captured the bull, and Palomino loaded the animal into his trailer and kept it secure until it could be returned home in the morning. Officials did not say who owned the bull or how it got loose. The job took until about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, leaving Palomino with just 90 minutes before he had to get up for work. 

“Samuel’s actions likely prevented a serious collision or injury on Highway 35 and protected nearby community members, first responders and the bull,” the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said.