Cows on the loose in Boxford, Mass., crashed a backyard party last weekend, and went right for the beer.

“They enjoyed it. There’s no doubt about it. They went right for the beer and then when one was done, they’d knock another one over and take care of that beer,” Lt. James Riter of the Boxford Police Department told NBC affiliate WHDH.com.

Police said they heard reports of screams from a group of women as five or six cows stumbled into the yard, eagerly hurtling toward the beers.

“They got up as the cows went toward the table. They stepped back and the cows took over the table, knocking over the beers with their noses, drinking the beer off the table. They went to the recycling bin to find any leftovers,” Riter told the TV station.

A caller told the 911 dispatcher: “We thought they were deer, but they're huge, huge, huge cows. There's got to be five or six of them.”

Andrea Poritzky also called 911 after spotting "about six cows" in her yard.

"I don't own cows,” she said.

“I was initially a little nervous. And then after I found it very comical and not very surprising due to the fact that we live in the country here,” Poritzky said.

A police escort rounded up the cows and returned them to a farm about a mile away.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Underground gay group makes waves at Christian college
• Marine Werewolves transform into Crusaders, and back again
• Video: Unabomber's' Harvard alumni profile riles some
• Texas whiz kid beats teens in 2012 National Geographic Bee
• NJ man detained in 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz
• NBC poll: Obama edges Romney in three key battleground states

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

U.S. Forest Service

Hikers found dead cows inside this U.S. Forest Service cabin, located in the mountains near Aspen, Colo. The outline of one carcass is seen through the doorway.

Granted, the U.S. Forest Service usually has bigger issues to deal with, but this got its attention because of its rather unique nature: How to dispose of six frozen cows stuck inside a Forest Service cabin, and more scattered outside, at 11,200 feet elevation?

And, no, this is not a hypothetical: In late March snowshoers who had hoped to use the cabin at Colorado's Conundrum Hot Springs found it already occupied -- by dead cows, which had apparently gotten out of the cold but were too dumb to find the exit, the Aspen Daily News reported.

The options now being weighed include: blowing up the carcasses; burning the cabin (and carcasses); or hauling the carcasses out with a helicopter or wheeled vehicle.

A final decision might be a few days away, but the newspaper quoted Forest Service spokesman Scott Snelson as saying "we need to dispose of them sooner rather than later" because the hot springs might become polluted if the carcasses are allowed to thaw and decay.

Manure is already all over the hot springs and the cabin is filled with it, Jeff Malin, a Boulder resident who hiked to the site, told the newspaper. "They obviously spent a lot of time there," he said, calling it a "real mess."

The site is 8.5 miles from the Aspen area in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area.

Using helicopters is probably too expensive, and trucks are usually barred from formal wilderness areas, the Associated Press cited Forest Service spokesman Steve Segin as saying. 

The Forest Service does sometimes use explosives to destroy carcasses that can't be retrieved. "We've used them as a means of disposal to remove dead horses, elk and other animals," Segin noted.  

As for where the cows came from, the Forest Service said they were part of a herd of 29 that went missing last fall from the nearby Gunnison National Forest.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Republicans try to pin GSA scandal on White House
• Kindergartner handcuffed by cops after tantrum
• Video: Dog that stood by fallen pal reunited with owners
• Couple says house is haunted, sue to get deposit back
• Soldier to receive posthumous Medal of Honor

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook 

WKTV-TV

New York State Police say they don't know why power lines fell in Hamilton, N.Y.

HAMILTON, N.Y. — Several cows are dead after a bizarre situation in Hamilton on Friday morning.

According to New York State Police, power lines went down on Excell Road, electrocuting animals on a farm. The incident happened around 9:30 a.m.

 State Police do not know exact number of cows killed.

A vet was dispatched to the scene.

No humans were hurt. There were no reports of any accidents in the area, so State Police are trying to figure out how the power lines fell.

Read the original story at WKTV.com

More news and features on msnbc.com:

• 'Liquid gold': Slick thieves hit Mass. restaurants to steal cooking oil
• 'Polar Express' train jumps tracks with 100 children on board
• Cops: Woman spent six hours in a Wal-Mart making meth