Posted on 06/08/2016 2:55:09 AM PDT by raybbr
GARDINER, Mont. — I met the bison calf that took a ride in an SUV early one evening as I drove west in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley, past the pullout known as “Picnic.” The late afternoon sun on a stormy landscape provided the light that we photographers dream of for shooting gorgeous mountains in the distance and wild animals on the horizon.
I spotted the calf near the road and all alone. It was crying out and seemed to be looking for its mother, but no other bison was anywhere close by. Instantly, I knew three things: The calf was orphaned or had become separated from its mother. The calf would not be adopted by another cow and could not survive alone, and so it was just a matter of time before it died or was killed. And I wanted a photo of that calf, in order to remember its short life.
Every year in Lamar Valley, we see bison calves by themselves, destined to perish. Their mothers might have died in childbirth, abandoned them or become separated during a river crossing. We watch as the calf runs from cow to cow, looking for its mother. We watch the other cows react with violence, particularly if the calf attempts to nurse. A wild bison cow will not adopt another’s calf. I have seen calves take up with bulls, which sometimes tolerate them. But eventually the calves are too weak to keep up during the daily roaming and are most likely captured by a coyote, wolf or bear.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Yes, when birds fly into a windmill, it’s just “nature” taking its course.
Veal?
Nature is brutal as hell. SUV Yuppies have their worlds framed by Walt Disney from childhood on.
I am always puzzled by people who decry zoos. (Properly cared for) zoo animals have basically won the lottery. No, they don’t have the romantic wild vistas to graze or hunt on.
I saw a leopard or a cheetah trying to hunt for her cubs, her jaw was so broken that it was freely and visibly swinging beneath her face. Starving to death with your children is what nature does. Dying of a hellishly-painful dental abscess. Being eaten alive.
Humanity wants to be merciful and that’s good, but it has lost it’s perspective.
Liberal policy is exactly the reverse of God's plan. Under socialists, the weak feed on the strong and count on us not being "nasty and mean spirited" enough to let those parasites starve.
“Playing God in Yellowstone” (by Alston Chase) recounts the fed’s first creative flirtation with that region. Generally interesting, if nauseating, history. Things haven’t changed much; everything the feds touch turns to excement.
I'm always looking to add to my Unified Theory of Liberalism. This is good. :-)
The greed of socialism, robbing the productive to bribe the unproductive (the greedy unproductive and idle have greater power in number than the productive) is an extension of that plan.
The Buffalo Calf was obviously a Democrat!
However, being a buffalo without a vote, wildlife experts want their wildlife to be self-sufficient instead of putting them on welfare!
“It’s the circle of life”
Circle of life.
My wife and I raise Angus beef cattle and we have experienced calves die in our arms trying to save them. It is inexplicable why some calves do fine and some don't. But once the mother rejects them, it is almost certain they will die.
It is nature's way.
This lady gets it. It may be a sad reality, but it is what it is.
It was a futile effort, but clearly, the baby bison was a Dead Calf walking. They simply hastened a death that probably would have been much more cruel anyway.
Excuse me? What warranted that attack? You still drunk?
I lived through middle school and HS in the deep woods of extreme northern California. Nature does not F around.
It may not have had the chance to vote during its short life, but will probably be voting Democrat from now on.
The coyotes have to eat too.
Did you read the corresponding article?
Yes I did and I'm well aware of the cruelties of nature..........I have my own opinion of this which I stated and this topic ain't worth arguing about.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.