A runaway cow who managed to escape a slaughterhouse was then able to find an unlikely new family to take care of her for months in the wilderness.

Bonnie was just four months old when she saw the other calves at her farm in upstate New York being rounded up to be taken to the slaughterhouse. Somehow, Bonnie was able to escape and run out to the nearby woods and hide.

As time went on and there was no sign of Bonnie, her story spread through her town like wildfire. Everyone had their own opinion of what happened to Bonnie. Some hoped that she had already been rescued and was in an animal sanctuary, while others thought that she should be hunted.

Bonnie stayed hidden for months until she was finally spotted on wildlife cameras set up by hunters. They were stunned to see the cow laying on hay with a family of deer, who had protected the calf while she was on the run.

A local woman started visiting Bonnie and bringing her food. She was able to call an animal sanctuary and get Bonnie to safety before the hunters caught up with her.

The Farm Sanctuary in Ithaca, New York ended up taking Bonnie in.

“Venturing out of the safety of the forest only for occasional sightings, Bonnie quickly became a local celebrity, dividing the Holland community into two groups: those who were ‘Team Bonnie’ and rooted for her to survive, and those who were determined to shoot and eat her,” said Meredith Turner-Smith, a media relations specialist for the sanctuary. “Both groups searched for her in the woods — which stayed buried under 3 feet of snow all winter — but aside from quick glimpses, the ‘babe in the woods’ remained hidden. That is, until hunters started picking her up on wildlife cameras. And what they saw truly amazed them.”

Meredith explained that the deer had taken in Bonnie as one of their own.

“Since she had lost her first family (and cattle are herd animals), the deer helped Bonnie survive and accepted her as their own — eating, sleeping and running together!” she said. “Like a deer, this ‘bovine Bambi’ would disappear into the forest whenever people appeared.”

Luckily, the neighbor who called the sanctuary was firmly “team Bonnie.”

“A kind neighbor knew the woods were no place for a cow, and helped her survive the winter by trekking through the snow each day, bringing food, water and fresh bedding to her on a sled. And after slowly winning Bonnie’s trust, she called Farm Sanctuary for help,” Meredith said.

Bonnie had spent eight months with the family of deer, so convincing her to leave them was difficult. It took two weeks and many failed attempts before sanctuary workers were finally able to get Bonnie.

“Since it was too risky to try catching her in the woods, we built a corral around her eating space, patiently waiting to close her in,” Meredith explained.

These days, Bonnie is safe from hunters and is being cared for at the sanctuary.

“Bonnie beat the odds. Here, our resilient new friend will spend her life in peace, surrounded by caring humans and a loving herd of her fellow rescued cattle,” Meredith concluded.

Find out more about Bonnie’s amazing journey in the video below!