Can't be stupid near a buffalo herd

steelslaver

steelslaver

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Well here it is June 11tth and it is just the beginning of goring season is starting out well. Already up to 2 morons. One yesterday and one a month ago. It really amazes me, Put up signs, put it on TV and yet some dimbulbs will still try their luck. Saw a video of a woman actually pat one on the head. I on the other hand wouldn't do that with a "domestic" bull or even most cows. Hey they weigh 1200 lb or more and the reasoning power of your average congress man and are almost as dangerous. "Domestic" cattle are responsible for about 22 deaths a year. Bison have to contend with each other as well as wolves and bears. It is such a great idea to all gather around some and act like complete idiots until they either panic and run over us or one of them decides he has had enough of us.
www.nps.gov

Man gored by bison June 10 in Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Me and some buddies were riding through Yellowstone when we came upon a huge herd slowly crossing the road, stopping traffic. One of the vehicles stopped was a 2 decker charter bus full of Asian tourists. Every one of them got out with their cameras and began taking pics. Then they just started wandering through the herd, snapping pics. Walking right up to bulls, getting between calves and their mommas, etc. There was one Ranger there and he was just watching the mess. I asked him if was gonna do something about it. he turned and looked at me with a face that said he was over the stupidity and said, "Yes. I'm gonna watch." I'm pretty sure he was a Darwin fan.
 
INDEED! About 80 years ago I was just a tad, and visiting the Cheyenne Wyoming Zoo with family members. A buffalo bull (who looked to be about 20 feet tall) decided to charge the tall chain-link fence behind which were standing; my uncle grabbed me and was racing to the car when the buffalo hit the fence... which held, thank goodness! It sure made an impression on me! About 15 years ago I had a client who raised buffalo...he babbled on and on about how domesticated they were, how he could walk amongst them, etc. He wandered out one day and his buffalo stomped him to death... it's just not smart to mess with mother nature!
 
When the beefalo meat market was at its peak in the 80's, the best genetics for handling were 1/4 buffalo and 3/4 black angus.
 
Given the general cacophony most groups of humans move in these days, is it really a surprise that animals get cranky? I include pets in that statement. I have found that animals of all kinds are sensitive to noise, sudden movement, and VERY sensitive to body language. I didn't get that picture in my avatar by running up to the critter yelling, "Hey, look at this lizard".
 
If this minor encounter was the scare of her life, I feel sincerely sorry for her. This encounter was nothing but a "stay away lady". Nothing brings out the feeling of invincibility like a few real-life near-death experiences. If mankind had never encountered anything scarier than this, the west would have never been settled, the pilgrims would have stayed in their gardens in England, the moon and oceans would have never been explored and our battle for independence would have never taken place. Fortune favors the bold. I am covered in scars and proud of each one. That being said, the old saying that God watches over drunks and fools may be the reason I am still here. And I don't drink.
 
I have been traveling in Yellowstone and watching the tourons since the late ‘50’s and the only thing that surprises me is that more people don’t get killed. My grandmother lived at Pahaska Teepee from about 1915 and she used to tell me stories about the stupid tourists back then. There weren’t that many buffalo around in the ‘50’s but there were lots of black bears that panhandled along the highways. We would watch them crawl halfway into a car window for an Oreo. We saw parents put their kids on bears’ backs for a ride. Just unbelievably stupid stuff. Never saw anyone get killed but it wasn’t for lack of trying!

Now it’s buffalo. Just a few days ago I saw a video of a woman who walked up to a buffalo with her little girl - maybe three years old - in tow. As they got near it, the woman let go of the little girl’s hand and she ran up to the buffalo as if she were going to pet it. People were yelling at the woman to back away but she just ignored them. She just strolled casually along as her child ran up within about 2’ of this buffalo, then the kid turned around and scampered off. Mom was utterly oblivious.

Fortunately, this buffalo was not bothered by this little thing that ran up to it and it ignored the whole proceeding. The mother should have been arrested and charged with felony child endangerment as she definitely put her child in a potentially lethal situation. And this sort of thing really isn’t uncommon. It has been going on for as long as tourists have been in Yellowstone Park and I don’t suppose it will change. Same song, just different dancers.
 
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