Coney Island cow dies, 'will be missed'

SINGAPORE — A lone bovine fondly referred to as the Coney Island cow is probably frolicking in greener pastures.

The National Parks Board (NParks) announced on Wednesday (Oct 12) that the animal had died, eliciting a wave of sympathy and conspiracy theories online.

“The cow was a recognisable part of Coney Island Park and will be missed,” NParks said in a statement. It added that post-mortem investigations showed that the cow had chronic underlying illnesses and that it had likely died of heart and lung complications while sedated.

The cow was sedated as standard procedure during an annual health check on Sept 28. Veterinarians took blood and fecal samples, but later could not revive the animal.

That information led some people online to question why the cow was sedated in the first place.

“I don’t think a medical check up was necessary,” Mr Melvyn Tan said on Facebook. “The cow/bull was fine before humans started invading it’s home. Now we have to give it check ups for the safety of the visitors?”

In its statement, NParks had said: “Health checks are necessary for the cow’s own wellbeing and for public health reasons, for example, to prevent the spread of diseases between animals and humans.”

The single, free-roaming bull had been a social media star since Coney Island was opened to the public last year. Known as the Coney Island Cow, it is a Brahman, a breed of Zebu cattle that originates from South Asia.

Since Coney Island’s opening, the cow was found to be malnourished and sick and it underwent a veterinary check-up every six months.

“Murdered in the name of science. #conspiracytheories,” Mr Jason Yip posted on Facebook.

“And the Internet cow experts have gathered and the usual comments are flowing. PAP fault. Government fault. Cover up. Why this why that,” another post read.

Others were more sympathetic, posting “RIP”.

“You were elusive and a bit of an urban legend,” Ms Paula Robinson posted on Facebook.

It is still a mystery how the bull got on the island. It could have wandered from Punggol or Lorong Halus, but no one has reported a lost cow.