Glenelg Mountain Rescue and locals rescue cow stuck in bog

The cow, spotted trapped in a bog by early-riser Peter Lane, was safely freed after a careful and co-ordinated effort.

Donnie Lamont, the cow’s owner and a 15-year-serving member of the Glenelg Mountain Rescue team, recounted the rescue.

A cow trapped in a bog in Glenelg is spotted by local walker Peter Lane “A local man came to the door yesterday morning, he’d been out for a walk in the hill and came across her. I went up to see her on the quad; she was way out the back, in pretty rough ground,” he said.

Realising the cow could not be rescued alone, Donnie contacted the mountain rescue team’s leader, Jake Butcher. “I wasn’t getting that out myself, so I phoned the team leader. He said, ‘no bother,’ and we put out a WhatsApp message to get people together.”

Co-ordinated efforts with slings and winches rescue the cow

Peter Lane, who spotted the animal, is a regular hill-walker and immediately realised something was wrong. “At around 7am he noticed the rest of the dozen cows were together, and this one was lying on its own. When he went over, he saw she was up to her neck in a bog,” Donnie explained.

The rescue involved six people initially, including Donnie, using slings and shovels to free the cow. An additional five volunteers arrived with an Argo and winch, bringing the total number of helpers to 11.

Mountain rescue team and helpers carefully work to lift the cow to safety “We managed to get slings around her backside and under her chest. With a bit of digging and pulling, we slowly got her out,” Donnie said. The operation took around an hour and a half, but Lamont noted the cow’s fitness helped her survive the ordeal.

Jake Butcher, team leader for Glenelg Mountain Rescue, described the operation: “We know the hill fairly well, situated just above Ravenscraig. It was actually quite a good training session, because we hadn’t been to that particular part of the hill before, and we had our radios on different channels to test which worked best,” he said.

The cow stands free after the rescue Butcher, who has been with the rescue team for around nine years, said the team’s hill experience and ability to co-ordinate quickly were crucial. “Just being in my rescue team and being able to quickly co-ordinate a bunch of people to do whatever job we need is something that allowed us to get out and do it yesterday,” he added.

Fortunately, the cow had not been trapped long. Donnie estimated she had been stuck for perhaps a day, but no more than that. Remarkably, she had her calf nearby, and Donnie checked later in the evening to find mother and calf reunited, “as if nothing had happened,” he said.

The cow recovers safely after the rescue While the mountain rescue team had not faced a livestock rescue before, Donnie pointed out that many of the members are crofters, bringing valuable hands-on experience to the effort.

Donnie also highlighted the strength of the local community. “There were a lot of willing helpers to come and help. Very grateful for them,” he said, acknowledging both the rescue team and the local volunteers who came forward.

The Glenelg Mountain Rescue team and helpers celebrate a successful cow rescue

Butcher also emphasised the importance of community and local knowledge. “We’ve got a really strong community here in Glenelg. Half the team members who came out knew their way around cows and how to deal with that, it was a learning curve for me,” he said.

Thanks to the swift actions of both locals and mountain rescue volunteers, the cow is back safe with her calf.