World famous quake cows 'fit and well' - farmer

  • 14/11/2017

Three cows, made world famous by Newshub's coverage of the devastating Kaikōura earthquakes, are in "good order", one year on from the disaster.

The two Hereford cows and calf were left stranded on the makeshift island, after sliding 80 metres down the hill they'd been sleeping on, and became worldwide sensations, after their predicament went viral.

Now, the trio have moved on and the two cows have even had calves.

"The cows are in good order," farmer Derrick Millton told Newshub. "We've had a really good winter - it's been a bit wet in the spring, but the cows are fit and well, and they've all got a calf each."

"They look nice and clean, and their coats are nice and tidy, and they're healthy."

Last year, the unlikely icons of the deadly disaster were subject to their own children's book called Moo and Moo and the Little Calf Too and in September this year, they appeared in a second book - Moo and Moo and Can You Guess Who? - which tells the story of the three survivors, nine months after the quakes.

For the past 12 months, Mr Millton, a councillor with the Kaikōura District Council, said rebuilding and managing their Waipara farm has been hard work.

"It's a community thing," he said. "We're all in this together - we all have to acknowledge our lives won't be the same, but at the same time, we've had some very good help and huge help from all over the country to try help us fellow farmers, people, businesses."

With about a decade left in their lifespan, Moo and Moo can rest assured they'll have plenty of time to reflect on the day they survived the Kaikōura earthquake, and became world famous doing so.

Newshub.