Liberty Belle
Well-known member
Re-introducing buffalo doesn't seem to work any better than wolves did.
These buffalo were bought from a ranch just south of us by Indians from California. It does seem the buffalo are teaching them all right...
Buffalo still roam after unloading mishap
By Steve Miller, Journal Staff Writer
BRYSON, Calif. — Nearly 40 young buffalo from a western South Dakota ranch remain on the loose in a rural area of central California after they got out of a truck that was taking them to a nature preserve more than two weeks ago.
Efforts to capture the roaming buffalo have been hampered by rain storms, muddy roads and the locals' unfamiliarity with the ways of buffalo, according to Mahiwo Agdeppa, a spokesman for Chumash Bison Co., which bought the animals in hopes of building herds for Chumash Tribe members.
However, 28 of the young bison were captured Thursday morning after they wandered into a sheep pen near Bryson in southern Monterey County, Agdeppa said. Seven of the animals were captured earlier.
The Chumas Bison Co. bought the four yearling bulls and 70 8- and 9-month-old buffalo heifers from rancher Travis Michelson of Mud Butte, according to Monterey County Sheriff's Office.
On March 28, the truck hauling them to a private nature preserve near Bryson became stuck in the mud at the preserve entrance — only 1/8 of a mile from the stock pen that was set up for the buffalo, Agdeppa said.
The truck driver opened the doors, releasing the bison. The startled bison ran onto the nature preserve but then kept running, through the preserve's fences and onto surrounding ranches, according to an account on the Chumash Bison Co. Web site.
Agdeppa said some of the locals had made the situation worse by chasing the buffalo. "They screwed up the whole process, got anxious and eager," Agdeppa said in a phone interview Thursday. He said one young buffalo had been shot on a rural road. He heard reports that a hunter had shot another of the animals.
That leaves about 40 buffalo, mostly in three groups, grazing on the grassy hills northwest of Nacimiento Reservoir, Agdeppa said. They are spread over a 5-square-mile area, he estimated. Sometimes, they graze along a rural, two-lane road. One group is grazing on the Fort Hunter Liggett military reservation nearby.
Agdeppa said he and other organizers are urging locals to leave the buffalo alone so they will naturally "herd up" and then can be coaxed into pens.
Duane Lammers of Rapid City, a longtime buffalo rancher, said last week that buffalo cannot be herded like cattle but would gather naturally in herds if they aren't spooked.
No one has been hurt, although some fences have been damaged in the area, Agdeppa said.
The hilly, grassy area about 18 miles from the Pacific Coast is a hospitable place for the buffalo because it is relatively sparsely populated, according to Sgt. John Pellerin of Monterey County Sheriff's Office. Many residents have 40-acre home sites, he said.
Agdeppa said the original plan was to bring the buffalo to the nature preserve, then split them into four breeding herds for individual members of the Chumash Tribe in various locations in central California.
"We started this to try some kind of economics other than a casino," he said.
Also, Agdeppa said, he and others wanted to bring buffalo back as a way of connecting with the tribe's heritage. "To us, it's like bringing back something from 10,000 years ago," he said.
"Our history in this area goes back 10,000 years," Agdeppa said. He said remains of buffalo dating to 10,000 years ago were discovered in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Agdeppa said, he is worried about the buffalo still on the loose. "We feel we failed the buffalo, because we want to make sure they're respected because they're sacred to us and to all Indians," he said.
He said his group has tried to educate area residents to leave the buffalo alone.
The buffalo are doing fine, grazing in the rural area and seem to be teaching the humans something, Agdeppa said. "The buffalo know what they're doing. Right now, they're teaching us. It's like they're saying, 'You guys need to know how to work together, to be patient.' They seem like they're watching us."
Agdeppa said many residents in the area had been upset and jumpy because of recent thefts.
Despite the initial alarm, the community is working together to help the buffalo, Agdeppa said. "It's like the buffalo's medicine is working."
Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or [email protected].
April 14, 2006
http://rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/04/14/news/top/news02.txt
These buffalo were bought from a ranch just south of us by Indians from California. It does seem the buffalo are teaching them all right...
Buffalo still roam after unloading mishap
By Steve Miller, Journal Staff Writer
BRYSON, Calif. — Nearly 40 young buffalo from a western South Dakota ranch remain on the loose in a rural area of central California after they got out of a truck that was taking them to a nature preserve more than two weeks ago.
Efforts to capture the roaming buffalo have been hampered by rain storms, muddy roads and the locals' unfamiliarity with the ways of buffalo, according to Mahiwo Agdeppa, a spokesman for Chumash Bison Co., which bought the animals in hopes of building herds for Chumash Tribe members.
However, 28 of the young bison were captured Thursday morning after they wandered into a sheep pen near Bryson in southern Monterey County, Agdeppa said. Seven of the animals were captured earlier.
The Chumas Bison Co. bought the four yearling bulls and 70 8- and 9-month-old buffalo heifers from rancher Travis Michelson of Mud Butte, according to Monterey County Sheriff's Office.
On March 28, the truck hauling them to a private nature preserve near Bryson became stuck in the mud at the preserve entrance — only 1/8 of a mile from the stock pen that was set up for the buffalo, Agdeppa said.
The truck driver opened the doors, releasing the bison. The startled bison ran onto the nature preserve but then kept running, through the preserve's fences and onto surrounding ranches, according to an account on the Chumash Bison Co. Web site.
Agdeppa said some of the locals had made the situation worse by chasing the buffalo. "They screwed up the whole process, got anxious and eager," Agdeppa said in a phone interview Thursday. He said one young buffalo had been shot on a rural road. He heard reports that a hunter had shot another of the animals.
That leaves about 40 buffalo, mostly in three groups, grazing on the grassy hills northwest of Nacimiento Reservoir, Agdeppa said. They are spread over a 5-square-mile area, he estimated. Sometimes, they graze along a rural, two-lane road. One group is grazing on the Fort Hunter Liggett military reservation nearby.
Agdeppa said he and other organizers are urging locals to leave the buffalo alone so they will naturally "herd up" and then can be coaxed into pens.
Duane Lammers of Rapid City, a longtime buffalo rancher, said last week that buffalo cannot be herded like cattle but would gather naturally in herds if they aren't spooked.
No one has been hurt, although some fences have been damaged in the area, Agdeppa said.
The hilly, grassy area about 18 miles from the Pacific Coast is a hospitable place for the buffalo because it is relatively sparsely populated, according to Sgt. John Pellerin of Monterey County Sheriff's Office. Many residents have 40-acre home sites, he said.
Agdeppa said the original plan was to bring the buffalo to the nature preserve, then split them into four breeding herds for individual members of the Chumash Tribe in various locations in central California.
"We started this to try some kind of economics other than a casino," he said.
Also, Agdeppa said, he and others wanted to bring buffalo back as a way of connecting with the tribe's heritage. "To us, it's like bringing back something from 10,000 years ago," he said.
"Our history in this area goes back 10,000 years," Agdeppa said. He said remains of buffalo dating to 10,000 years ago were discovered in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Agdeppa said, he is worried about the buffalo still on the loose. "We feel we failed the buffalo, because we want to make sure they're respected because they're sacred to us and to all Indians," he said.
He said his group has tried to educate area residents to leave the buffalo alone.
The buffalo are doing fine, grazing in the rural area and seem to be teaching the humans something, Agdeppa said. "The buffalo know what they're doing. Right now, they're teaching us. It's like they're saying, 'You guys need to know how to work together, to be patient.' They seem like they're watching us."
Agdeppa said many residents in the area had been upset and jumpy because of recent thefts.
Despite the initial alarm, the community is working together to help the buffalo, Agdeppa said. "It's like the buffalo's medicine is working."
Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or [email protected].
April 14, 2006
http://rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/04/14/news/top/news02.txt
:shock:
