Wednesday 11th February - 19 seen - Steer 271 has been fitted with the wrong left ear tags, and is carrying those belonging to steer 217.

At 15:15 this afternoon, the eighteen members of the original Caesar’s herd, along with Sussex steer 1626, were spread out grazing in the pasture near ///plugs.tribes.chairs, northwest of Horse Pond. Most were enjoying plenty of heather along the hillside, while others browsed deep in the gorse bushes. They were all very friendly, coming over to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs.

By 15:30, rain had set in and most of the cattle had moved to shelter under the trees to the northwest. Youngsters 219, 222, 228, and 230 were their usual friendly selves, returning for long neck and back scratches. A little later, cow 72 and yearling 271 — who had both continued grazing out in the open — wandered over for some attention. They seemed pleased to have the rain brushed from their backs and sides, with their coats ruffled to help them dry.

It was reassuring to see that steers 30 and 219 still had a good amount of antiseptic spray visible on their ears, despite the heavy rain since they were treated yesterday. I also noticed that yearling 271 appears to have been fitted with the wrong left ear tags, as he is currently carrying those belonging to youngster 217. I have informed the Grazing Team.

I said my goodbyes just after 16:15, leaving the group grazing among the thicket beneath the trees. They were all happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

Despite searching in the rain until dark, I was once again unable to locate the elusive six Sussex cattle. Hopefully, they will reappear from their hiding place soon.

The cows that were found were all good today.

Tuesday 10th February - 19 seen

A few photos of the cattle taken before we gathered them to fit missing collars and replace batteries.

At 10:10 this morning, steers 21, 217, 219, and 1626, along with cow 234, were foraging for acorns and browsing gorse beside the nursery near Hungry Hill. Unfortunately, youngster 219’s ear injury was not looking great today, although he was otherwise fine. His ear was later treated with antiseptic spray, and he was given antibiotics to help address any infection.

By 10:30, steers 20, 30, 222, 227, 228, and 230, together with cows 72, 214, and 940, were grazing in the thicket to the southeast of the Sandy Bowl. They gradually made their way down to the sandy area to rest and chew their cud. There was a significant military presence to the west, with multiple armoured vehicles in the area. Despite this, the cattle were very friendly, coming over to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs.

At 12:20, steers 33 and 35 were standing under the trees to the northeast of the water tower. They were both resting and chewing their cud and looked well.

Finally, at 12:45, youngster 220 and yearlings 270 and 271 were resting in the bracken on the hillside near ///stolen.almost.revolts, approximately 260 metres east of the covered reservoir. Yearling 271 soon stood up to enjoy a long neck and back scratch. All three were happy, content, and looking well.

As noted in Zoe’s post, despite an extensive search of both Caesar’s and Gelvert, we were unable to locate the six remaining Sussex cattle today.

Aside from youngster 219's ear injury, the cows who were found were all good today.

Tuesday 10th February - All staff onsite, collars/tags/treatment

Whole team onsite today 

Despite best efforts and extensive searching we only found 19 cows, 

All 19 had their collar batteries changed or collar reinstated 

The cows we couldnt find were the group of Sussex's (bar 1)

Ear tags reinstated 

 219 right ear treated with spray and antibiotics administered 

Few others treated with spray on ears or cuts on flank 

To summarise 

25 cattle still onsite 

19 with collars 

Happy with condition of all. 

Thank you everyone 

Grazing and Reserve team 

Monday 9th February - 19 seen

Between 07:45 - 10:15

16 were found just west of the horse pond at ///fakes.advancing.chromatic this included the 4 that sustained injuries yesterday. From what I could see there didn’t appear to be any new bleeding so hopefully the healing process will proceed without any further injury. The group were all foraging for acorns and eating the gorse. All looked content and gradually drying out.

I then found 220,270 and 271 by the cattle grid entrance to Gelvert at ///blotchy.decorated.data the three were all close to each other and made no effort to follow me out the gate. 

Unfortunately I could not find the remaining 6 Sussex’s.

All the 19 that I found this morning were good and enjoying the time without any rain. 

Sunday 8th February - 24 seen - Steers 30, 219, and 227 have ear injuries, and steer 1626 has a head injury.

Shortly before 10:00 this morning, steers 20, 21, 33, 217, 219, 222, 227, 228, and 1626, along with cow 72, were resting on the path near ///splits.slicer.acrobats, northwest of James Bond Pond. Older steer 30 was standing on higher ground just to the east. It was a foggy start to the morning, but this soon burned off. The cattle were all very friendly, enjoying plenty of strokes and rubs as I made my way around checking on them. Youngsters 222 and 228 were especially affectionate, offering gentle head rubs after enjoying long neck and back scratches.

By 10:30, several of the cattle had crossed the path and moved southwest to graze among the heather and gorse near ///nothing.skid.essay. I said my goodbyes shortly before 11:00, leaving them all calm, content, and looking well.

At 11:05, Sussex steers 197, 210, and 1640, along with cows 212 and 1396, were grazing along the sides of the path near ///recur.bake.asleep on the Gelvert reserve. They all said hello as they slowly moved west. They were happy, relaxed, and looking well. After saying my goodbyes, I continued west, re-entering Caesar’s at Beacon Hill Road, before carrying out a thorough search of that end of the site for more cattle.

At 11:40, I returned to the group of eleven cattle, who were now resting at the western end of Sandy Hill near ///huts.bring.forklift. I immediately noticed that steer 227 had a deep cut on his left ear which was bleeding. On checking the others, I found that steer 219 also had a deep, circular cut on his right ear, which was bleeding, as well as a couple of scratches on his side just above his right leg. Sussex steer 1626 had a head injury, with a small amount of blood on his left horn and a cut just beneath it. Older steer 30 also had a sizeable bleeding wound on his right ear and had unfortunately lost a chunk of his ear near the ear tag. It appeared that there had been a skirmish at some point, resulting in multiple injuries. I immediately called Sam at HIWWT to make her aware and shared photos of the injuries. Sam came to the site to check on the boys and applied antibiotic spray to the ear injuries of steers 30 and 219.

Prior to Sam’s arrival, steers 219 and 227, and later steers 30 and 219, looked like they were going to continue the shenanigans, so I moved them away from one another before anything could escalate. At 12:25, cows 214 and 234 wandered along Sandy Hill from the west and joined the group.

After Sam left, I returned to the main entrance of Gelvert shortly before 13:30, where I found cows 211 and 940, along with steers 220, 270, and 271, browsing gorse near ///rely.epidemics.stilted. By 13:45, they had been joined by steer 197 and cow 212, who arrived from the west. The remaining three Sussex cattle were further west, browsing gorse near the fence. When I said my goodbyes, cow 940 followed me back onto the Caesar’s side of the fence, so it will be interesting to see whether the others follow.

Finally, as I was leaving at 14:25, I checked on the main group again, who were together on the slope south of James Bond Pond. Youngster 230 had also joined them and was lying down resting with steer 33 in the bracken, while the others grazed nearby. Youngster 219 was sensibly standing a little apart from the group. They were all calm and relaxed.

Despite a very thorough search, I was unable to find steer 35 today.

Except for the four injured steers, the cattle were all good today. I hope the boys settle and that there are no further issues, and that their injuries heal quickly.