Saturday 28th March - All 25 seen - Sussex steer 210 was on Gelvert - now back on Caesar's

At 09:15 this morning, steers 217, 220, 222, 228, 230, and 271, along with cow 214, were resting and chewing their cud on a grassy patch at the Royal Pavilion end of the site, near ///dollar.lost.river. Steers 30 and 227, together with cow 234, were grazing in the bramble to the southeast. Youngster 222 had a small scratch on his front right ankle, likely caused while grazing in the thicket, but it wasn’t causing him any issues. They were all very friendly and enjoyed plenty of strokes and rubs as I made my way around checking on them. At 10:55, steers 20 and 35, along with Sussex cows 211 and 212, were grazing in the swampy area to the southeast of the covered reservoir. Cow 212 soon wandered over to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs in the sunshine. At 11:30, a group of ten cattle, including four of the Sussexes, were resting in the heather and bracken near ///repeats.attic.save, northeast of James Bond Pond. They were positioned within an area that the army had cordoned off for cadet training. They were all happy, relaxed, and looking well. Despite a thorough search, including returning to all three groups to double-check I hadn’t missed him, I was unable to find Sussex steer 210. Determined to locate him, I crossed over to Gelvert, where I eventually found him grazing on lush green grass beside the larger fishing lake at 13:50. He was reluctant to leave the fresh grass, but he did follow me back to Caesar’s through the gate at the water treatment plant at 14:10, which had been left open after the makeshift string lock had been cut. Having found some thin rope near the fishing lake, I used it to secure the gate. It took some time to guide him back to other cattle, but by 15:00 he had been reunited with steers 20 and 35 near ///beats.golf.stowing, close to the main entrance to Gelvert. He didn’t seem particularly content, and I suspect he was hoping to rejoin the other Sussexes, although cows 211 and 212 were likely nearby, as they had been with the boys earlier. He had been very vocal along the way, frequently calling out as he tried to locate other cattle, but none were close by. Hopefully, he will settle, and the group will move off together to find the others. The cows were all good today.