SHARJAH — Motorists in Sharjah who are normally smart at negotiating anything and anybody did not expect this one — a frightened bull right in the middle of the road.
While panic-stricken motorists and pedestrians — alien to Spanish bullfight and South Indian ‘jellikettu’ — shooed and swerved to escape injury, police, civil defence and municipal officials were left to take the bull by the horns. It took all of one hour for them to tame the animal. The black bull, according to police sources, was being transported in a pick-up van along with other livestock for slaughtering during Eid Al Adha celebrations when it fell off the vehicle near the Sharjah Cooperative Society Store in Al Khan.
The driver, unaware of losing one of his precious cargo, sped away to Dubai, leaving the motorists and pedestrians to run for their lives as the frightened bull ran wild losing its mooring and direction in the thick of vehicles and concrete jungle. Traffic came to a standstill. Police arrived there along with Civil Defence and Sharjah Municipality officials. They made several attempts to catch the animal which damaged a police car. It was finally caught by experts from a residential area near the Sharjah Cooperative Society outlet.
The animal was blindfolded and its limbs were tied before it was transported safely to the municipality’s animal barn, a police source told Khaleej Times. He said the bull would be kept in the barn until its owner comes to claim the animal.
An eyewitness, who was stuck in the traffic for over an hour said, she was frightened to see the bull running helter-skelter on the road. It was a ferocious looking animal and could have hit any pedestrian or motorist if the drama had continued a little longer, she said.