Calf Causes Brief Drama on Highway 101 Near Elk River

Drivers along Highway 101 near the Elk River and Herrick Avenue on-ramp got an unexpected dose of ranch-country reality around 1:20 p.m. yesterday when a young bull calf decided to test his independence—right next to heavy traffic.

According to a vivid account sent in by reader Sid Berg, a “2–300 lb. bull calf got out on the northside of HWY 101.”

“We spotted the CHP and a volunteer trying to head it back towards a side road by the Carol Sund Center,” Berg wrote, adding that he and others stopped to help flag traffic. That was no small task, as “range cows and calves are unpredictable as was this one, and I was afraid it was going to bolt across the highway through heavy traffic.”

While emergency flashers were deployed, Berg noted that they didn’t exactly achieve the kind of caution he hoped for from passing motorists. “[They] do little to slow traffic [which is] hell bent on going somewhere fast,” he wrote.

The California Highway Patrol officers on scene did what they could under the circumstances. “CHP officers are not trained cowboys, but do their best to herd,” Berg explained. The calf, however, had ideas of his own. “With the athletic adventurer blatantly disregarding direction,” the situation threatened to turn from tense to dangerous.

That’s when help arrived from folks who clearly knew their way around cattle.

“A few courageous cowhands joined the roundup, with one of them making an award winning bulldogging catch, saving both the calf and the motorized masses any further dance with destiny,” Berg wrote.

With the wild calf under control, “the fence was loosened and the animal was pulled back with his buddies.” Crisis averted—for both those on hooves and those on wheels.

Berg identified those captured in photos from the scene as “the unknown Bulldog Champion in the blue sweatshirt, local rancher Dana Porter (bullsitter) and two unknown CHP officers.”

He closed with a request:

“Thanks to all that helped, on behalf of the owner (whoever that may be),” Berg wrote, adding a pointed reminder: “To the motoring public (with the ability to think), PLEASE slow down when you see emergency flashers and an animal near the side of the road!”

No injuries were reported, and the calf was safely reunited with the rest of the herd—one more reminder that rural highways can come with four-legged surprises.