Cowtastrophe! 2,000-lb. steer named Bob tumbles down steep ravine

So how does one rescue a 2,000-pound steer named Bob that tumbled down a ravine? Answer: very carefully.

GEYSERVILLE, Calif. - So how does one rescue a 2,000-pound steer named Bob that tumbled down a ravine?

Answer: very carefully.

That's what happened on Thursday at 6025 Dry Creek Road in Geyserville, Sonoma County.

A family pet – in this case, a 15-year-old castrated bovine weighing 1 ton who goes by Bob – fell down a dirt ravine about 2 p.m., according to the family's account recounted by the Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District.

It's not quite clear what prompted Bob to wander off in the middle of the family's property, or the exact circumstances of his fall.

"He had been in that ditch for a while," Fire Capt. Joe Stewart said.

Stewart said his unit was called in to help about 8:30 p.m. And when his team saw what had occurred, they called in the Grayton Fire Department, which has a specialized rescue team, called the Halter Project, born from the Tubbs Fire, when large animals needed to be rescued.

As the crew decided on the best course of action, Bob lay motionless at the bottom of the embankment in the dark, looking pretty forlorn and lonely.

A 2,000-lb. steer named Bob lies at the bottom of a ravine in Geyserville. Jan. 8, 2026 Photo: Dave Cannon

The crew huddled together to decide the best course of action: What's the best way to get Bob out? A rope around his neck? His legs? His waist?

Ultimately, the team used harnesses around Bob's front legs, some rope, a pulley and a tarp to slowly pull his big body up the hill, as colleagues with flashlights beamed light into the darkness to aid the rescue.

The conversation among the rescue team went something like this:

A little more slack. A little more. 1, 2, 3.

Keep going.

OK, Now do you want to readjust?

It's going. It's going!

C'mon Bob.

Need help?

C'mon buddy.

Fuck yeah!

Fire crews in Sonoma County hoist a steer named Bob up a ravine in Geyserville. Jan. 8, 2026 Photo: Dave Cannon

Ultimately, Bob was pulled up to the top about 11:30 p.m. Crews grabbed his horns, gently yanking him upwards toward the grass.

Crews jiggled Bob's large frame on the tarp, hoping to get him to stand.

"We were able to get Bob the cow out of the ravine," Stewart said. "And we're hopeful that he can make a recovery."

Stewart said the job wasn't easy.

"It took a lot of work," Stewart said. "And a lot of trying different things."

It's also not every day fire crews are called in to help out with such a mission.

"It's not often that this happens," Stewart acknowledged. "Sometimes you've got to work at different angles. Cows act a little differently than when you're rescuing a person. Two thousand pounds of weight is a lot to move around."

Crews from the Grayton Fire Department and the Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District hoist a 2,000-lb. steer named Bob out of a ravine in Geyserville. Jan. 8, 2026 Photo: Dave Cannon