Where is the buffalo?
Reminiscing in the past. When I was a child my mother brought me to the Earlton Zoo. It was the only zoo in our area and also the only zoo to have a few African animals too. Yes the lions and tigers were fierce and intimidating, but it was nothing compared to the buffalo.
Meet Manitou! This bison, or buffalo, is 5.8 meters high and 8.2 meters long. Made of fiberglass, sheet metal and nuts and bolts that make up the hair. This male buffalo stands tall at the entrance in full glory!
There was a lot of land given to these giants in that zoo. They would come up close to fence, almost at arm's reach. I felt so inferior, so tiny to these creatures. It was hard to wrap my brain around why their heads are so big (child thought).
The buffalo I was seeing were to be honored and respected. Nothing was quite like these gentle giants that were quietly grazing on the grass.
The zoo shut down in 2004 and became Temiskaming Wildlife Center which then closed in 2005. Today the land is used for a place to buy, sell and service RV's.
So where is the buffalo now??
The only information I gathered was that the buffalo from the zoo are roaming free without any further information given. That makes me sad.
And so that took me on a research adventure to find where there are buffalo roaming, if any at all.
Here is what I found:
The buffalo are very sacred animals to the First Nations people. They provided the people for many years with food, clothing, and the bones were used for tools and even boiled down to make glue. All parts of the buffalo were used. Nothing wasted. I found that they continue to honor the spirit of the buffalo for its strength and wisdom. A beautiful thing to see them dance at Pow Wows.
In the 1860's, the white man (Canada and the US) enabled mass hunting, industrial sized hunting in order to exterminate the buffalo. They wanted the First Nations to become dependant on them, starve them so that they had no choice to go the the white people and control over them.
That was the beginning of their horrid descent.
I found that in the late 19th century, a few conservationists saved the buffalo from being wiped off the face of the earth and protected what was left of these animals in the States. They were then moved to Canada in 1909 to start growing the population by having them breed with the wood bison. But that was tremendous work, a slow going process for various reasons like diseases.
Reading this brought a smile upon my face. People can do amazing things to save our animals, but people can also run horrid operations that lead to destruction and thus erases an entire species.
Today there are apparently 2 free ranging herds and 10 wild ones of wood buffalo in Canada. Mostly in Calgary, Alberta is what I am seeing.
And then I saw this:
What if we could see the same with cows and pigs and chicken instead of this:
Just putting that thought out there.
I believe people need to see buffalo as more of a majestic creature to be respected and find more ways to bring the population of wild buffalo back up. I don't see it being talked about and it should be brought up more and more. Just like the African animals that are being killed for trophy. Raise more awareness for these animals so they too can thrive as they did many years ago.
I am still looking for more information on wild buffalo in Canada and what people are doing to help. If you have more information that you would like to share, please share. I will be thrilled to know.
Love your land, love our buffalo.
xx
Sources:
https://bisondunord.com/our-story/
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreation/Documents/Arts-and-culture/Bison-Spirit-Land.pdf?noredirect=1
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/buffalo-hunt/
https://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/food-agriculture/our-failing-food-system/industrial-agriculture#.WpgYWVTwZkg
Those sources have a lot more information and create a very interesting read. If the buffalo are something of interest to you, check it out :)
so you finally wrote it. A wonderful read that gives hope.
I do not yet understand how wild animals are allowed to be butchered for meat... they should be given protection and conserved for posterity. It makes me sad and I cringe at the stupidity of people
Ya I finally wrote it lol. It took me some time as with my 3 kids, I am called for quite often.
I agree with you that the animals should be given protection and conserved. In my opinion animals can be used for meat but in the ways of First Nations. All creatures of land and water are sacred and when their life is taken, it should be done respectfully and not throw it all off balance. Respect should be given at all times.
Wooow such a big statue. It must be so magnificent.
I love the idea of finding places where most animals can survive in this age of technological advance. In our age, the concrete jungle overtakes the previous ecosystem in a sad process of evolution. I want more reservations! Everywhere.
I agree with you 100%! But what can we do when the governments rule the lands? :(
Here is a picture of Manitou my friend, @earthmother, took for me while I was driving by the other day.
They are majestic creatures, aren't they!!
I know near Fort Saskatchewan there is a reserve. We were driving through it in a little Chevy Spark and one buffalo came right by the car and towered over us. It was awe-inspiring, but a little scary too. Another road trip took us to South Dakota where we ran across a reserve where a man in the late 1800's had saved the only two remaining from the huge herds and proceeded to breed them and re-populate. It was really cool.
And I'm in full agreement with the way our cattle, pigs, chickens are raised for food. Most live in horrible conditions. I grew up on a small farm in Ontario and know that there's a better way!
Thanks for this post; it was something different and really interesting!
That is great news! Isn't it something when they come close? It is quite a feeling. I am grateful for that man that helped repopulate the buffalo. And for the others that take care of them too. And to think it took all these years to get what we have today and still not many roam free. I don't know what it takes and all the work involved but it shows to what depth of destruction that was created.
Thanks for sharing this Foxy! Buffalos are pretty huge and look scary but thanks for sharing that video make me see buffalos in a new light.
They've been a great help to the old civilizations.
They are so gentil. The way they defend themselves is amazing. They will circle around the young ones and the elderly ones to defend them. They see what is important. More than some human beings. We can all learn from them. They make me think of whales that protect their young. Never greedy and they are so wise. These are animals of great.