Beloved longhorn steer known for chirping dies at Arizona national park
A beloved longhorn steer known for making a bird-like chirping sound has died at northern Arizona’s Pipe Spring National Monument, according a Dec. 11 obituary posted by the National Park Service.
Named Whitmore, the 1,800-pound beast roamed the park for 18 years, giving many tourists their first glimpse of a creature that is synonymous with the untamed American West.
However, Whitmore had a reputation for being more goofy than scary.
“To many visitors, seeing Whit was the highlight of their visit to the monument. Whit loved the attention he got at Pipe Spring, but as soon as he saw a camera or a phone come out, he would turn his back on you,” the park wrote. “He may have looked intimidating with how massive he was, but we all know he was just a big puppy that didn’t always know the size of his horns.”
Those horns were 6 feet long, the park noted.
Among Whit’s eccentricities was an odd chirping sound he made when he got excited, the park said. This most often happened when staff approached him with tasty apples, pumpkins and carrots.
“When our ranchhand could be seen through the corral posts with a carrot or melon in hand, Whit couldn’t contain his excitement,” the park said.
“When he didn’t feel like running, his excitement came though with what we can only call ‘chirps.’ Maybe that’s from years of hanging out with the chickens?”
Whitmore died Dec. 8, and the park did not provide a cause. However, longhorns generally live 20 to 25 years, experts say.
The park’s Facebook post has gotten hundreds of reactions, and many of the commenters shared photos of Whit staring at them through the fence.
“Rest in peace big guy. May you find your herd in the great meadow beyond,” one commenter wrote on the park’s Facebook page.
“Oh, he’ll be missed! What a grand old man!” another posted.
Pipe Spring National Monument is known “as a water oasis” in the desert near Arizona’s Utah border and includes historic forts and gardens, according to the National Park Foundation.