Don't get too close to the buffalo!

We live near Cody, Wyoming and we’ve been running bison on the ranch for about six years. Used to be we had cattle and we’d lose a cow or a calf very now and then to some idiot dog that would love to chase cattle.

Now we ride the ranch and occasionally come across some stupid dog that thought bison were just the same as cattle. There’s usually not much left as the bison LOVE to jump up and down on the dogs and that’s like getting run over and over by an asphalt roller.

Simple rules to live by with bison:

#1. Do not approach the bulls when they’re in rut.
2. Do not approach the calves when mom’s around.
3. Cut them from the edge of the herd one at a time and NEVER let yourself get surrounded by them.
4. When possible quietly move them in small groups so they don’t get panicked.
5. Don’t think of bison as individuals. They are part of the herd and the herd will act as one to respond to a threat. They collectively go from zero-to-berserker in 0.001 seconds flat.
6. If you ever see a wild bison by itself it isn’t.

Be sure to try bison meat the first chance you get! You’ll love it!

Once I was at the edge of a small lake in the high Rockies with my two small kids, a large bull moose was suddenly about 25 yards away. It was uncomfortably close to the rut. He was a nice boy, just kept munching and kept moving. I learned why even fishing at a popular spot, you have to carry something substantial, I wasn’t that day.

There’s a beach in NC on the Outer Banks with no paved roads, where the wild horses aren’t penned and still run free. It’s become a very popular destination. The law requires people to stay a minimum of 50 feet away with very stiff penalties, $500.00. But, further up the coast there is another herd and apparently the rules aren’t quite so restrictive. Tourists who get carried away get their butts kicked, apparently with some regularity. Me, I wouldn’t want to get curb stomped by a horse on sand or anywhere else, lol.

Sounds like the story of these guys camping.
They woke up to find a couple of brown bear cubs in camp.

Then they saw a huge sow up the path on her hind legs roaring.
One guy is frantically putting on running shoes.

His buddy is freaking and says, “We can’t outrun her!”
Our hero says, “No, but I can outrun you.”

"Anybody else have an uncomfortable closeness to wildlife but were lucky in the encounter?"

Yep. About 30 years ago, I was a Major in the Marines, serving as the Operations Officer of an artillery battalion at Camp Pendleton California. While I was scouting new firing positions with my Battalion Commander, we spotted a herd of 40 Buffalo grazing in our intended site.

My Battalion Commander looked at me and said "a real man would pet a buffalo". I looked back at him and said, "Sure".

I walked slowly down a hill towards the herd and decided to approach a young bull at the nearest point of the herd and talked to him in a low, friendly voice. When he would stop eating, I'd stop and talk to him some more. When he started eating again, I'd take more steps towards him. After a long, slow walk, I was right next to him and gently reached up to his shoulder at patted him - then I turned towards the Battalion commander and bowed.

The battalion commander (who'll you'll note that I am not naming: he made General) Yelled "...from the middle of the herd!"

I did walk into the herd for a little bit, but some calves walked towards me, apparently looking forward to being petted and the patriarch bull started pawing the ground, so I left very carefully.

I'm not sure what I proved but when it was my turn to command a battalion, I didn't ask anyone to do something that stupid.

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