Dangerous encounter Dangerous encounter (December 30, 2005)

And that's no bull?
by Carol Bogart

The big gray cow charged 10-year-old Joey, lifted him with its head and flung him through the air.

Just minutes earlier, Joey Lindley and his yellow lab, Lucy, had emerged from a fenced pasture at Sunol Regional Wilderness where he and his mom, Susie, were hiking the Little Yosemite Loop Trail. The park is about 15 minutes southwest of Pleasanton off Highway 84.

As Susie kept a wary eye on a herd of cattle inside the pasture, boy and dog exited through the turnstile gate. Emerging from the pasture, Joey remembers that Lucy pulled on her leash and barked once. Susie, still inside the pasture, spotted two large cattle--she thought the biggest was a bull--outside the fence, standing by the bridge leading to the parking area.

Both cattle--perhaps startled by the dog--dropped their heads and pawed the ground, she said. Panicked, Susie scrambled over the barbed wire fence to get to Joey.

The biggest cow charged, slammed into her son, tossed him, and Joey landed on his head. The cow placed its hoof on the unconscious boy's chest. Susie lost it.

Screaming and waving her water bottle, she ran at the cow. The cow instantly turned on her and pawed the ground. She stopped. Joey began to whimper. Susie warned him to stay quiet.

Losing interest, both cows moved away. Susie, a nurse, got Joey to the car. He told his mom his head "felt funny." Susie noticed that his speech was slurred. At ValleyCare, instead of reaching for the door handle to exit the car, he reached for the glove compartment.

Although it was three or four days before Joey "seemed like himself" again, his mother recalls, both felt lucky he'd suffered only a light concussion.

Susie took him home from the hospital the same day the tests were run, put him to bed and called the park district police to report the incident. Not much help

The officer who took Lindley's report denies telling her that she "was lucky her son hadn't been attacked by a mountain lion." Lindley insists officer Denise Maehara seemed indifferent to an event that could have killed or crippled Joey.

She asked Maehara what she should have done differently to protect her son. According to Maehara's report, the officer responded: "We're not trained in those matters" and told Lindley to "call animal control."

The Weekly's calls to several animal control agencies-- including the number provided by Maehara--found no one with answers to Lindley's questions.

Director of the Oakland SPCA's Dublin shelter, Kirsten Park, said she's hiked the Pleasanton Ridge with her large dogs and recently had a too-close-for-comfort encounter with a herd of cattle. Park relates that she "had no idea what to do." Her dogs were in a "stare down" with several cows. Until that moment, she said, she'd always felt safe hiking. Two-week lag time

Maehara's full report wasn't passed on to the ranger on-site at the park until two weeks after the incident, at which point the grazing tenant rounded up three cows with calves. None of the three looked much like the description given by Susie Lindley, said ranger Kelly Barrington. Park district attorney Ted Radosevich acknowledges that, after two weeks, it's possible the guilty cow was long gone. He said, "We should have done a better job internally." Who's responsible if someone's hurt?

Joey doesn't remember much about the incident. He doesn't remember being charged, being flung, or landing on his head. Such amnesia is common to concussion victims. Radosevich has assured the Lindleys that if the grazing tenant or his insurance can't or won't take care of Joey's medical bills, the Park District is ultimately responsible for what happens on its property. He points out, though, that most parks have just one tenant, and tenants have a business interest in staying on good terms with the park district.

Last year, many park district staff attended a one-half day cattle behavior seminar, said Radosevich, but he couldn't say if Maehara was one of them. On-site ranger Kelly Barrington said Joey and his mom "did nothing wrong" by hiking an established trail that crosses a cattle pasture. There are 23,000 acres in the park, he said, and most of it is grazed.

Cattle grazing has benefits, say park district signs, such as reducing the risk of wildfire. Best advice: When about to enter a cattle grazing area, take a minute to fully read signs that explain what to do if you encounter cattle. Be especially wary around cows with calves, and cows that seem separated from their herd mates. An average cow can weigh well over a thousand pounds. If agitated, it can hurt you.
Tips for hiking in cattle grazing areas

Once the weather clears up, parents with kids may head out to East Bay parks. Those who do should look for signs posted at entrances to cattle grazing areas. The signs say in part:

* Don't get between a mother cow and her calf

* Don't try to touch cows or calves and don't let dogs torment them

* Don't startle cattle.

* If cattle are in your way on a trail, well in advance make a lot of noise and wave your arms. The cattle should disperse.

Because cows are herd animals, a cow separated from its herd may be frantic, say livestock experts. In the area where Joey Lindley was charged, there's at least one gate which, if not closed securely by hikers, could allow a cow to escape and become separated from its herd--or calf.

Most grazed acres at Sunol Regional have cows with calves, explains park ranger Kelly Barrington. Ranchers know mother cows defending their calves have been known to kill people. Cows can't tell the difference between a dog and a coyote, say park district signs. If your dog is with you, be especially careful.

Cows are startled by anything unusual that is thrust upon them, livestock experts say. An example might be when Joey's dog appeared through the turnstile or when Susie Lindley jumped the fence to protect her son. Try to avoid giving cows a "sudden, novel experience," say experts.

If a cow seems about to charge, retreat. If possible, get behind a tree. Once the cow has lost interest in you, circle out away from it and stay beyond the edge of its "flight zone." In other words, don't re-invade its space. Make sure, too, that cows have a clear escape path.
Who to call

If you see a cow that exhibits threatening behavior, try to make note of the number on its ear tag. Try to remember any distinguishing characteristics and where you saw it. Report the cow to the ranger on-site. At Sunol, call 862-1833 or 862-2281. At the Pleasanton Ridge, call 862-2963. Cattle graze year-round at Sunol, spring and summer only at the Ridge.

Although, according to the park district, the number of hikers hurt by grazing cattle is statistically very small, hikers' trails do cross cattle grazing areas. If you or someone with you needs emergency help, call 911 or Public Safety Dispatch at (510) 881-1833. Write the numbers down. Keep them with you in your pocket. If cell phones don't work, a call box is located in the park visitor's station. Know where it is before you start your hike. Any injuries should be reported to the district's risk management department, (510) 544-2157.

For more information on East Bay Parks' grazing policies and park locations, visit www.ebparks.org. To learn more about cattle behavior, visit www.grandin.com/references/new.corral.html.

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