Updated at 2:45 p.m. ET: The Brooklyn cow was captured by the NYPD this afternoon. A requiem for the courageous animal is below.

It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while, there comes an event that's so weird and so wild that it brings us all together in a way we never could have possibly imagined. Oct. 17's event? A runaway cow evading capture in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

if you're hearing helicopters over Prospect Park it's because this brown cow is loose on the Parade Grounds soccer fields! I'M ON COW WATCH pic.twitter.com/kNuKYueylW [1]

— Rachel H. Smith (@rachelholliday) October 17, 2017 [2]

The young bovine reportedly escaped a slaughterhouse [3], ran two full miles, and survived being hit by a car before turning the park's historic Parade Grounds into an impromptu bullring around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Local news station ABC7 streamed the ensuing NYPD-versus-cow standoff live on both Facebook and their website, captivating viewers in the local area as well as around the world — and, naturally, generating an insane amount of puns on social media. Naturally, #BrooklynCow began trending on Twitter soon after the live stream began.

COW UPDATE: The Brooklyn cow is not backing down, @ABC7NY [4] WATCH LIVE https://t.co/zSuMeGSBQi [5] pic.twitter.com/2o3BLrI70q [6]

— New York City Alerts (@NYCityAlerts) October 17, 2017 [7]

Dozens gathered in the park to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event, cheering the cow on and urging officials to allow the animal to keep the freedom he so clearly had earned. The ensuing footage showed the power of one strong-willed individual against the system that has decided his fate, and frankly, acted as a symbolic reminder of the sheer, unadulterated beauty of freedom. A quick look at the reactions to the events shows what's evident to anyone who was watching: for a few hours today, we were all Brooklyn cow.

honestly we should all just agree that if an animal escapes, it's really up to the animal to come back or not

— Anthony Smith (@AnthonyBLSmith) October 17, 2017 [8]

The NYPD managed to corner, capture, and cart the animal into custody by 1:30 p.m. But we couldn't be more grateful for those two hours and for the reminder of much, much, much simpler times. Read all the way down to the bottom of this post to relive the magic, thanks to the now-forever-documented livestream.

He's Beauty. He's Grace, He's Mr. Moonited States #BrooklynCow [9] pic.twitter.com/Jlc6ZbgaXK [10]

— Emma Pintrill (@emmaglen24) October 17, 2017 [11]

Original Story:
It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while, there comes an event that's so weird and so wild that it brings us all together in a way we never could have possibly imagined. Oct. 17's event? A runaway cow evading capture in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

We'll have lots more to say on this later, but for now, watch the action on the live stream above. Because let's be real: today, this cow is all of us.