Monday 5th May - All 25 seen

Cows 72, 214 and 234 were gathered near ///habit.mercy.door at the Royal Pavilion end of the site at 10:45 this morning. They were all friendly, with cows 72 and 214 enjoying back rubs before all three lay down to relax and chew their cud. Nearby, older steers 21, 30, and 33 were peacefully grazing in the thicket to the southeast. All six were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 11:30, eleven steers from the Caesar's original herd were grazing near Horse Pond. Most were enjoying the grass and leaves while sheltering from a light shower. Steers 220 and 227 had settled under the trees to the west of the pond. Meanwhile, youngster 217 had waded out into the middle of the pond to nibble on plants floating on the surface, returning to dry land about ten minutes later.

As the rain eased, the boys split into smaller groups, gradually moving east to continue grazing. By 12:05, they appeared to be gathering near ///limits.lease.unloading, with youngster 222 the first to lie down for a rest. Youngster 228 and yearling 270 had ventured further southeast to ///texts.taker.loses, but soon made their way back towards the others. In the end, the whole group continued eastward, with youngster 222 getting up and joining them. All eleven were happy and healthy.

At 12:45, cows 211, 212, and 940 were resting and chewing their cud on a grassy island near ///email.thighs.myth. Cow 1396 and steer 1640 had been lying on another island further southeast but got up when I arrived and wandered over to say hello. Steers 197, 210, and 1626 were grazing in the trees and bushes to the east of where they'd been lying.

By 13:00, most of this group had gathered near ///sample.plotter.task before heading east into the trees to graze. I noticed steer 210 hadn't followed and spotted him drinking from a large pool of water to the northwest. About five minutes later, I heard distant mooing and realised he hadn’t rejoined the others. I found him nearly at Beacon Hill Road (with his tracker failing to update his location). I persuaded him to follow me back, and by 13:35, he was reunited with steers 197, 1626, and cow 1396, who had heard my calls and came to investigate. After a short rest, the four of them made their way through the wooded area to the western end of Longbottom, where the remaining four were happily grazing in the thicket. I said my goodbyes soon after.

The cows were all good today.