A small town in Western Australia's Goldfields is contemplating building a boundary fence to curb an influx of wayward cattle.
The outback town site of Leonora, 830 kilometres north-east of Perth, has seen several years of drought that has driven cattle from nearby stations into the town site in search of food and water.
The big animals are now proving a growing danger for local residents.
Potential for 'serious harm'
In December, a local council worker was knocked unconscious when one of the cattle charged at him as he was closing the gate at the Leonora sporting fields.
He was flown 240km south to Kalgoorlie Health Campus with severe concussion. He has since made a full recovery.
There have been reports of a rogue bull targeting a home owner who took issue with it damaging his car, and a separate incident where a blow-up Santa was destroyed outside a local residence before Christmas.
Shire of Leonora chief executive Ty Matson said the council was working with the three biggest stations surrounding the town site — Tarmoola, Mertondale, and Clover Downs — to find a solution.
"If you're looking around town most days there's probably 20 or 30 cows around the place," he said.
"I haven't seen it but I know there's a bull floating around as well. These are big animals — 500kg, 600kg under the hoof.
"It's definitely something people need to be wary of, and as we've seen, the potential for serious harm to people is real so we really want residents and visitors to town to keep their distance."
Mr Matson said while additional fencing may be the answer, he could not say how much it would cost, or whether it would be the pastoralists or ratepayers who foot the bill.
"The issue is if we round them up [the cattle], they just walk straight back into town, so we need to look at a more permanent solution," he said.
"That may be a fence around town."
Gardens damaged by cattle
Long-time Leonora resident Norm Williams said the cattle were a regular sight outside his property which was completely fenced off.
However, he said while peering over the fence recently he had caught one cow on its hind legs eating his asparagus and bougainvillea plants.
"They don't cause us too many problems, but I've got friends in town [where] the cows go in their gardens at night and you can imagine what it's like in the morning," he said.
The extreme summer temperatures during the day mean the cattle are often seen resting under trees in the shade, some only a few hundred metres from homes.
But at night the herd moves into town, with the cattle known to congregate near the Leonora Hospital.
Leonora resident Kat Dubberley said she had a fright recently when she walked into her kitchen at night and saw a cow peering in through the window.
"A little slit of the curtain was open and there was this giant cow's head staring at me in the kitchen," she said.
"I squealed and dropped to the ground because I thought it might have been a peeping Tom at first.
"I have noticed that it's coming back really frequently, standing at the same window. I reckon my cat and the cow have little conversations."
Property on the frontline
Leonora resident Warwick Tullock lives on the eastern side of town and his front yard overlooks bushland.
"We're the first point of contact when they come into the town, from that way at least," he said, pointing east.
When the ABC visited, his front lawn was covered in newly deposited cow dung, as were his neighbours' properties on either side.
"It's good for the lawn, I guess, but it's looking a bit dead at the moment because of the heat," Mr Tullock said.
"A couple of times we've walked out the front and they've given us a bit of a fright, but nothing too dangerous.
"Since we've moved in they've just always been there, so you just learn to live to live with them."
Leonora was gazetted in 1900, four years after a man named James Willis drove the first cattle to the district in 1896.