Cow 569

February 16th, 2004, on a farm near Woodville, New Zealand, there were devastating floods in the Manawatū and Rangitīkei regions. The river began to envelop her farm, and Kim Riley and her husband woke to get their herds up to higher ground. Separated from the other hands, Kim soon found herself and her herd swept up and floating down the current of the rising floodwaters.  

Treading in the current for 40 minutes, Kim noticed the cows were heading towards an accessible dry section of land. Trying to follow their example and swim across the current to shore, Kim became 

exhausted, and looked around for something to grab on to. That’s when she saw Cow 569 swimming directly towards her. Grabbing her mane, Cow 569 carried Kim safely to dry land. After coming ashore Kim was in shock, couldn’t stand, and was eventually found by her husband. Kim says she owes her life to Cow 569. “She was always number 569 to us. We never considered giving her another name, but she was more than a number. She was special.”