A black bull apparently on its way to the butcher escaped its trailer Monday on Waterville Road in Skowhegan and led police on a one-and-a-half-hour chase before it got into the Kennebec River near the downtown, swam across it and climbed a river embankment before being shot fatally by police.

The dead animal then floated down the river, tumbled over the steep falls at the power station dam and went south toward the Big Eddy in the river.

Skowhegan police Chief David Bucknam said Monday evening that the big, 600-pound animal was acting aggressively and heading toward a crowd of about 50 people who were watching the goings-on and he had no choice but to put it down. That was around 6 p.m.

Bucknam said the bull, which was about 1.5 years old, broke loose out of its trailer around 4:30 p.m. near Quinn Hardware on Waterville Road and took off running down South Factory Street to the Middle Road and crossed into the woods before going to Stevens Road and getting into a fenced-in area.

“It was on its way to the butcher, I believe, and I’m pretty sure it knew that,” Bucknam said. “It just made a break for it.”

Bucknam was following the bull from behind and as it ran to the four-way intersection by South Side Tavern, crossed the Margaret Chase Smith Bridge onto Island Avenue, took a left turn by an old mill building that houses a Chapter 11 store and ran behind the building where it jumped into the Kennebec and swam across to Alder Street, Bucknam said.

It climbed a steep embankment west of the walking bridge known as the “swinging bridge,” according to the chief.

“When it came to the top of the bank, I put it down,” he said. “Unfortunately, instead of staying at the top, it slid to the river.”

Bucknam said the bull was exhausted from running so long. Officials previously tried to catch it by bringing in a steer to lure it to them, as a cow would go to a steer, but they were unsuccessful.

Bucknam did not have the name of the bull’s owner, but said the owner had been trying to corral it and probably was looking for it after it floated down the river.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

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Twitter: @AmyCalder17

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