A rampaging water buffalo that caused havoc in Siem Reap town Tuesday and Wednesday was shot dead by military police, officials said.
The buffalo bull was first spotted early Tuesday morning running amok in Siem Reap district’s Tropeang Sas village in Kokchak commune, said Morm Samon, military police chief for Siem Reap province.
The bull struck up to six men and women, including pedestrians and people on motorbikes, and shattered the windshield of a vehicle, he said. One woman was hospitalized after being hurt while trying to flee from the angry buffalo, he added.
Provincial and military police, with backup from six security guards from Angkor Archeological Park, chased the bull out of town on Tuesday.
Authorities hoped to find the animal’s owner, but were unsuccessful, Morm Samon said. As the bull was still on the loose and dangerous, a meeting was held Wednesday morning to decide on what action to take.
“We decided to shoot the crazy buffalo to ensure security and safety for Siem Reap people and our international visitors,” Morm Samon said.
At about 5 pm Wednesday, while the bull was contained in a rice field near Kok Doung village in Toek Vil commune, military police officers armed with AK-47 assault rifles shot the animal to death, Morm Samon said.
The animal, which had large horns, was equal in strength to an angry elephant, he said, adding that over the two days, the bull had traveled an estimated 10 km.
“This buffalo was very cruel,” Morm Samon said.
