Flood-hit Australians overjoyed as calf returns mid-interview
::Dan Patch, Ghinni Ghinni resident
"We put them under the bridge to keep them in the high point, they were in about that much water, standing in water and it was still rising... Ok, we found the little boy calf. We thought we'd lost one in the water. We thought he might have drowned, but apparently, he's there. She had twins in the water, in the mud."
::May 25, 2025
::Ghinni Ghinni, Australia
"These little calves here, they got out onto the highway... after the floodwater receded, we went up and we brought them back and gave them a feed. They've been without a feed for two days. So they're very happy."
"It's the worst we've ever seen. It's worst everybody's seen around this area this area."
::Heather Middleton, Ghinni Ghinni resident
"It is exhausting. But - I've also got chronic fatigue, and this is after COVID... if we keep thinking about all the bad things that are happening, we don't see the good things. I'm just so glad we found the little boy today. That is awesome, and it just gives that little spark of extra energy to keep going."
The couple was forced to leave their cow and three calves behind during an emergency evacuation during last week's floods in the southeastern New South Wales state that cut off towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes.
"We put them under the bridge to keep them in the high point. They were... standing in water and it was still rising," Patch told Reuters, who was interrupted mid-sentence by Middleton shouting behind that she had found one of the calves.
"Ok, we found the little boy calf", said Patch nonchalantly before continuing the interview.
Their other two hand-reared calves were discovered on the highway by the State Emergency Services. Patch said they came back after the floodwater receded two days later to feed them.
He also said the flooding was the worst they had ever seen in the area. At least 10,000 properties may have been damaged in the floods, which were sparked by days of incessant rain, authorities estimate.
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