COW CAUGHT: About five or six police officers and Hamilton City Council staff cornered the cow.

A cow on the loose in a suburban Hamilton park this morning has been caught.

Allenby St resident William Potter said he and partner, Christine Creed, heard what they thought sounded like a cow mooing in Melville Park, on Normandy Ave, about 7.30am.

About five or six police officers and Hamilton City Council staff cornered the cow down the riverbank at the intersection of Normandy Ave and Cobham Dr where it was caught without incident.

Earlier Potter said they saw the cow inside a police cordon - made up of police emergency tape - in the park behind their property.

"All I could see was a cop standing there with a rifle in his hand."

Potter said he later saw the cow doing a runner, with a policeman armed with a rifle in close pursuit, heading towards the Cobham St bridge.

"It obviously saw that it was going to be shot and ran straight through (the tape)."

Potter said he questioned the officer whether he was going to tranquilise the cow and was told "that's one of two options".