Some days you’ve just got to take the bull by the horns. 

A bull glowers at the camera after its bid for freedom was thwarted Wednesday in Auburn. Auburn Police Department photo

That was the general idea Wednesday morning after a bull escaped from a trailer while it was being transported down Washington Street. The escape itself was a low-tech affair. 

“He apparently started kicking and opened the gate,” Auburn Deputy Police Chief Tim Cougle said, “and then he fell out of the trailer.” 

It happened shortly before noon and within minutes of the escape, a section of Washington Street resembled a rodeo. 

The driver who lost the bull was out there trying to catch the animal. A man driving a snowplow tried to use his truck to corral the beast in a parking lot. Several police officers joined the party as did a local farmer plenty familiar with the wiles of runaway bull. 

Police shut down a section of Washington Street while the growing team of bull herders attempted to lure the stubborn animal back to the trailer. 

“Between the officers, the farmer, the owner and the plow driver, they were able to corral the bull and coax it back into the trailer,” Cougle said. 

Nobody was injured in their efforts to capture the powerful bovine. The bull itself seemed fine, although it was said to have suffered a minor injury to a leg. Washington Street was reopened and the owner of the bull went on his way. 

The action caused a little bit of confusion, however, among people who happened to be passing by. One person reported seeing a buffalo running wild on Washington Street. Another declared that efforts were underway to capture a wolf. 

Police confirmed that there were no wolves or buffalo involved in the mayhem. One angry bull bent on freedom, they said, was plenty.