RIVERSIDE — Police in Southern California have arrested a suspected calf rustler after the animal was found in the back seat of his car.

Riverside Animal Services spokesman John Welsh says an officer approached Cesar Zamora Santana early Wednesday when the man was spotted loitering outside an auto shop.

When the officer looked inside Santana’s vehicle, he saw the calf lying in the back seat. Santana told police that he bought the animal for $200 at a gas station.

Animal control officers found that the bovine’s ear identification tag had been forcibly removed.

Welsh says the 150-pound female calf was turned over to a farmer to be fostered while authorities try to find its owner.

The 31-year-old Santana was arrested on suspicion of transporting livestock without proof of ownership or identifying information. No phone listing for him could be found.