In an incident of senior prank—a type of prank that students pull before graduation to leave a memorable impression on the school, resulted in a cow going on the hoof through north suburban Niles for hours.

A surveillance camera captured a loose cow running down the pathway, later a group of students were seen chasing the cow. Niles Police said that the students attended Northridge Prep School and were "apparently involved in what was described as a 'senior prank,' by bringing live animals to the school."

Police also found out that the students bought the cow and pig on Craigslist and according to them the pig was purchased near Dixon, Illinois, and the cow was purchased near Winneconne, Wisconsin. Police said that some students even brought chickens to school for this senior prank.

Later it was assumed that the animal that was originally thought to be a cow was actually a steer—a male bovine that has been castrated. However even that piece of information was false and the a farm executive confirmed that the animal was indeed a cow, a young heifer that has not yet given birth. 

Police worked with Wagner Farms in nearby Glenview to catch hold of the cow. "We created a funnel out of fence panels to get it to the trailer, but we knew when it got there, that's where it was going to get rough," Jonathan Kuester, director of Wagner Farms told CBS News.

It was later reported that the Wagner Farms were not permitted to take possession of the cow so it will be taken to Hooved Animals Humane Society in Woodstock, Illinois. 

"It was not a happy animal," said Kuester. "I mean, it had been chased around for I think about six hours until we got to it. It didn't want to see any more people," said the Wagner Farms director.

Police also said that the situation was indeed dangerous and were grateful that the cow was not hit by a car.

"It was tough enough for two of us who know how to work livestock to handle them. I don't know how some high school kids thought they were going to do it," Kuester said. "But I don't think pre-planning was part, you know, what went into this," added Kuester.

Many witnesses unanimously confirmed to CBS News that the whole scenario was pretty dangerous.

The students who were behind the whole situation were cited for curfew violation,  disorderly conduct, animal feces accumulation, and prohibited animal species in connection to the incident, police confirmed. The school administration refused to pursue any criminal charges.

The young cow is now settling in her temporary home. The young cow is yet to be named and Hooved Animal Humane Society is taking suggestions on its Facebook page.