Phill, the water buffalo, who made national headlines and won the hearts of Iowans last summer when he escaped from the person who bought him to slaughter for meat last summer, has died.
Iowa Farm Sanctuary (IFS) posted on social media on Thursday that they had rushed Phill to Iowa State University’s Large Animal Hospital “after he was found lethargic, unsteady on his feet, and had stopped eating.”
“Upon arrival, he was quickly assessed and found to be in critical condition.”
Phill, along with fellow water buffalo Sal and Jane, had been living at IFS since September. Located near Oxford, it’s Iowa’s only vegan farm sanctuary, which cares for a wide variety of farm animals who had previously been abandoned or otherwise traumatized. The three water buffalos — two bulls (Phill and Sal) and a cow (Jane) — were the surviving members of a group of four young water buffalo Prem Nepal of Des Moines bought from a dealer in Kansas and installed on a rented property in Pleasant Hill. The fourth buffalo was slaughtered before Phill made his break for freedom in late August, jumping a fence.
After eluding capture for five days, the police, assisted by veterinary experts, were able to tranquilize the roaming buffalo. Over the course of his run, Phill became an internet celebrity, with his online fans deciding Phill was the right name for him. (It’s a contraction of Pleasant Hill.) Thanks to Phill’s sudden fame and devoted public following, a deal was struck, whereby Nepal surrendered Phill and the remaining two buffalo to Shawn and Jered Camp, the owners of the 40-acre nonprofit IFS.
It’s not yet clear why Phill’s health took such a sudden, disastrous downturn, but it’s possible that an infection and/or lead poisoning caused by the shotgun pellets remaining in his body were the cause. On Aug. 26, during Phill’s first encounter with police after his escape, a nervous officer shot him. In response, Phill simply ran off, and the police lost sight of him.
After he was captured, and before he arrived at IFS, Phill’s wounds were treated at ISU’s Large Animal Hospital. All three buffalo had a routine vet appointment earlier this week, and at that time there was no sign of what was to come.
“Last night around 1 am I text Jered to see if he had heard any new news on Phill,” Shawn Cmap wrote on social media Friday morning. “He called right away and I knew.”
“In the middle of the night, Phill began to crash and his doctors called to tell us there was nothing they could do.”
Shawn included a video she shot of Phill ten days ago in the post.
“Phill was so peacefully chewing his cud, enjoying an unseasonably warm winter day with his family,” she wrote, describing the video. “He was so peaceful and happy. He licked my face after I admired him from behind my phone. He was the sweetest, most gentle and forgiving soul.”
“His bravery saved the life of his best friends, and ultimately, it is likely that is what stole him from us,” Shawn said, referring to Phill’s shotgun injury.
Sal, with whom Phill had a particularly close bond, and Jane are still in good health at IFS.
“We know that you all are grieving with us and we are so sorry,” Shawn Camp wrote. “Please know that our little IFS family is suffering immensely from this profound and sudden loss and we ask for grace as we navigate our grief.”
“Phill, our brave and bulletproof buffalo, you were so loved. You changed the world. We will miss you for a lifetime.”
