Eight years after her story made headlines around the world, Yvonne the runaway cow died at an animal sanctuary in the southern German state of Bavaria on Tuesday.
‘Veterinarians and animal carers fought for the life of the famous cow, sadly to no avail,’ the animal sanctuary Gut Aiderbichl said. ‘Yvonne, the most excellent four-legged personality of Gut Aiderbichl has now said farewell forever.’
Yvonne the cow rose to fame in the summer of 2011 when she ran away from her owner in Bavaria and began living in the nearby forest instead. For the first few weeks, she lived there in relative peace - until she almost ran into a police car, when the authorities declared her as an official security risk.
After the local authorities decided she should be shot, there was a nationwide and even a global outcry.
People began devising means to help Yvonne avoid her execution. Helpers at Gut Aiderbichl tried different methods to lure her in: food, a bull called Ernst, the dachshund Mirko, a tracker and a medium.
But Yvonne would not be caught. Thermal cameras, helicopters and SUVs were no match for her. As the hype continued, a local hunter commented: ‘The whole region has gone mad.’ Finally, the fun and games came to an end when Yvonne was caught by Gut Aiderbichl on September 2, 2011, with the help of anaesthetic darts.
Yvonne died aged 14 almost eight years to the day after her escapade in the Bavarian forest came to an end.