Where The Buffalo Roam

One of the things I love about where we live is all of the wild life.

 And even though these bison are on a ranch, don't mistake them for a domesticated animal. That would denote characterstistics that these animals have not evolved to.

The cow, bison, are really big as they will soon calve. They are easy to spot because they are de-horned, horns removed, though I see a few that still have theirs. They could of been purchased that way or somehow missed out on the hornicure day. No, there isn't such a word except in my vocabulary but it is colorful and I like it.

 Look at those big, big round bellies.

The horns are left on the bulls. When the bulls usefulness is done, they are processed for their meat, their beautiful leather, and their skulls and horns are dried and sold for decor. I would guess that their bones are processed for fertilizer. 

Each animal has a look of their own.

  And the prairie wind gives them even more humorous character. As I look at each of these cows, I have to wonder if Jon, the owner, has a little black book. My dad did when he managed a cattle and sheep ranch. The book was full of numbers. No, not phone numbers but the tag numbers of the cows, along with a brief history. What vaccinations they'd had, their age, their calves, etc. Call it genealogy if you will. 

What some fail to realize about these bison that we locals call buffalo, is that even though these bison are on a ranch and raised, they are a wild animals. Handling them is a whole different ballgame. The post in the bison corral has large round pipe cemented in the ground. The tall fences that line the highways, are a suggestion of containment. It's probably why the pastures are HUGE to help keep them happy. Happy animals stay in their containment.