With cautious steps, the farmer moved closer to the broken fence, the flashlight’s beam trembling across the snow-covered ground, revealing hoof prints that told a troubling story. The land dipped sharply into a shallow gully just beyond the rise, and there, in the dim light, he saw the source of the calf’s distress.
A full-grown cow lay trapped, her legs folded awkwardly beneath her, her muzzle frosted with ice. She was unable to rise, clearly exhausted and struggling against the cold. Two smaller calves huddled beside her, barely moving, seeking warmth from their mother’s thin frame in the biting chill.