LYND — You wouldn’t expect an animal as big as a buffalo to be hard to find. But Cal Brink said he’s spent days looking for a bison that escaped from his acreage near Lynd last week.

“We’ll look for fresh tracks,” or places where the bison tried to bed down for the night, Brink said. But when Brink spoke with the Independent on Tuesday morning, nobody had yet spotted the animal. He’s encouraging anyone who sees the bison to contact him or the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.

“They’re not looking for trouble,” he said of the bison — right now, it’s more like a cow out grazing. But for safety reasons, people shouldn’t approach or corner one.

The missing bison is one of three that broke away from Brink’s property on Wednesday night. It’s the first time in his 10 years of raising bison that any have escaped, he said.

A group of eight bison from Reading, were being moved to Brink’s acreage east of Lynd. Three ran away, breaking through several strands of barbed wire fence.

After that, the search was on. Brink said it was unusual for the missing bison to stray away from their herd.

He contacted the Sheriff’s Office about the bison, and got the word out via social media. So far, it looks like the animals have avoided neighborhoods and Minnesota Highway 23, he said.

Two of the runaways were found over the weekend, a couple miles east of Brink’s acreage. The two bison had to be killed, he said.

“It’s unfortunate we can’t get them back,” he said.

Brink said the search is still going on for the third, missing bison. Searchers are using tools like drones to get an aerial view of where the bison may have bedded down in farm fields, he said. Neighboring farmers have been a big help.

“It’s amazing, the people who have reached out to help,” Brink said. If anyone sees the missing bison, Brink said they should contact the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office or call him at 507-401-1341.