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Swiss farmer Heinz Meier and his cow had a day to remember after the cow escaped from her paddock and ended up trapped on a cliff edge.
Mascalese Faya, a four-year-old pedigree Holstein, was missing for more than a day, Meier told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“She went in the forest behind the pasture, where it is extremely steep and with rock cliffs which almost go down vertically,” he explained.
The terrain in the Swiss mountain forest is so extreme that the breeder did not believe she could be there and spent the first 24 hours searching for his cow on neighbouring farmland.
With Faya nowhere to be found, Meier took the advice of his girlfriend Franz to search the escarpment to the rear of the paddock.
The relieved farmer eventually located his cow, but had to call in reinforcements to help with the rescue.
As our video shows, the cow was placed in a special harness, winched up through the trees and flown down over the Swiss mountains to safety.
Despite her ordeal, Faya was quickly back to her usual routine, chewing the cud at home on Meier’s farm.
Sired by Mascalese, Faya comes from the Comestar Laurie Sheik family and Meier hopes she will be graded EX following her third calf.
In a 305-day lactation, Faya produced 8,690kg of milk at 3.65% fat and 3.49% protein.
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