One of two buffalo that remained on the loose after escaping last month from a Hot Springs farm has been found dead, but recent sightings of the other are encouraging and suggest its capture may come soon, officials said Wednesday.
The six buffalo escaped from the farm on Shady Grove Road on April 16. Three were tranquilized and recaptured that day after they were spotted running through neighborhoods. A fourth died after being hit by a car.
But the remaining two female buffalo had avoided attempts to corral them for more than two weeks.
Terry Payne, a spokesman for the city of Hot Springs, said one of them was found Monday night in a ravine in a wooded area near Whispering Hills Street, which is east of the Hot Springs Country Club.
It's unclear how the animal died.
"There are a lot of people who feel personally about our buffalo," Payne said. "It's been difficult for people to hear about two out of six."
The final loose buffalo is thought to also be in the Whispering Hills Street area after two sightings last week and another Tuesday, Payne said. Law enforcement and animal control workers are no longer actively searching, but the buffalo's owner has been canvassing the area and has a pen with food in it set up in a bid to attract and trap the buffalo, Payne said.
She said the sightings have indicated the buffalo is becoming increasingly docile, which may mean its time on the lam is winding down.
"There are hopes on a lot of people's parts that we're very close to capturing the last one," she said.