Photo by Rich Keen, via the United States Department of Interior
We’re not talking about THE Bison, the mascot of Sunset High School. But bison have made so much news lately that we thought we’d put it all in one place for you, given the beast’s important place in neighborhood pride.
First, United States lawmakers stopped bickering long enough to declare bison the first National Mammal of the United States recently. President Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act last week. The measure shines a light on bison, which once were plentiful in the United States. They were over hunted intentionally as a way to weaken Native American communities beginning in the 1830s. By the early 1900s, only a few dozen bison were left.
Next, the heartbreaking baby bison story. Tourists at Yellowstone National Park captured a bison calf, wrangled it into the cargo space of their Toyota Sequoia and brought it to the ranger’s station because they thought it looked cold.
“They sincerely thought they were doing a service and helping that calf by trying to save it from the cold,” one witness told EastIdahoNews.com.
Bad idea. It’s illegal to interfere with wildlife in a national park. In fact, it’s illegal to come within 25 yards of wildlife, including bison, in a national park. It could’ve gone very badly for the tourists. Bison fiercely defend their young, and more people are injured by bison than any other national park animal, according to the National Park Service.
In the end, the bison calf had to be euthanized because it was rejected by its herd. Here’s a lengthier explanation of why the calf had to be put down.
Finally, here is a story with an amazing video and photos from the Dallas Morning News about a woman in Argyle who has a bison living in her house. Yes, a house bison (although definitely not potty trained).
“She’s a buffalo, you can’t really push her around too much,” Karen Schoeve says of her bison Bullet in the video, below. “But she’s a good girl.”
