A familiar animal fixture at Perry Farm has moved to greener pastures.

Those pastures happen to be a few hundred feet away, next to the park’s welcome sign at the corner of Kennedy Drive and Perry Street.

To the possible surprise of some motorists passing by the busy location, a real cow has not jumped over any fencing and made a break for it.

The black-and-white spotted animal is, in fact, a life-size cow statue that stood for years beside the Exploration Station.

The statue was recently given new life with a fresh coat of paint and relocated into prominent view.

Cherie Smolkovich, director of recreation and marketing for the Bourbonnais Township Park District, said she was unsure of the cow’s exact origins.

The cow has stood outside the Exploration Station for at least 10 years, overlooking park visitors from the fenced-in area around the building’s air conditioning units.

“We just felt like it was hidden too much behind the fence, so we just decided, and one of our maintenance team members, Percy Dean, gave it kind of a new, fresh bath and repainted it,” Smolkovich said.

The maintenance team then moved the cow to its new grazing spot.

“It was just kind of a hidden gem, and we wanted to showcase it,” she said.

While the cow does not currently have a name, the park district is considering a future naming contest to help pick one.

“We just know he’s been a staple of the farm for a long time, and we decided to show him a little bit more adoration,” she said.

The cow has not only been spruced up and given a fresh view, but it also has a new animal neighbor located just down the road.

The park district purchased a brightly colored, approximately 9-foot-tall rooster statue a couple of months ago.

The rooster can be seen while heading into the park toward the Exploration Station.

“Somebody saw him up north and just thought he’d fit perfectly in our farm to greet people,” Smolkovich said. “We thought it would be a fun addition.”