"Black Death" Buffalo

The buffalo is widely regarded as a very dangerous animal.

 Picture from Wildlife Safari

Specifically the African buffalo is known as "The Black Death" or "Widowmaker" because it kills over 200 people every year.  Sometimes more people are reported killed by buffalo than any other animal in the area.  Because they are considered game, they have been known to attack those pursuing them.

The Buffalo Whisperer

If you get frustrated by the amount of hair and general messes left behind by your dogs or cats, just think about this: RC Bridges has to clean up after his two pet bison. Yes, bison.

RC, nicknamed "The Buffalo Whisperer" and his wife, Sherron, share their home with not one but two bison. Can you imagine having that pet try to sit on your lap while your watching TV?! Though RC says he isn't afraid of his pets hurting him or his family, bison are not typically known to make good pets; even though they can be domesticated, they still retain many of their wild traits.

According to The Daily Mail, RC is a cowboy who worked with buffaloes most of his life. When he lost an eye in 2004 he had to sell his herd, but kept Wildthing as a pet. A second buffalo, Bullet,  was taken in after a friend could no longer control her. To get the full story on the Buffalo Whisper, click here.

Images via Barcroft Media.

Bailey the Pet Buffalo

Just like your family dog, Bailey Jr. loves to go on car rides. However, the fact that he is a six foot tall, eight foot long bison makes taking those trips a little more complicated!

Owner Jim Sautner of Alberta, Canada had to seriously modify his Pontiac Bonneville so Bailey Jr. could fit; not to mention beefing up the car to handle his 1,820lb weight! The three and a half year old steer even gets his own bucket of oats to munch on during the drive.

Being as the car isn’t exactly road legal with Bailey Jr. in the passenger’s seat, Jim has to restrict his travels to parades and private roads.

Bailey Jr. isn’t Jim’s first buffalo. After the passing of their previous bison, Bailey Sr. in 2008 the Sautners decided they missed having a bison as part of the family, and adopted young Bailey Jr. from a friend.

Far from just a farm animal, Bailey Jr. is like a shadow to Jim, who believes Bailey thinks of him as his mother. Bailey Jr. loves being chased around by Jim on his four wheeler, or just relaxing in the living room. He may very well be the world’s largest “puppy dog”!

 

Via.

The Columbian Exchange

Christopher Columbus first arrived in the Americas on October 12th, 1492. Columbus Day is celebrated in the United States today in memory of that event and how it undoubtedly changed the world forever. One of the biggest impacts his arrival had was due to the number of animals and crops introduced to the New World; this is known as the Columbian Exchange.

From a biological perspective, both North and South America were very different places before European settlers arrived. With the exception of alpacas and llamas there were virtually no large animals in the Americas suitable for domestication. The Europeans introduced cattle, sheep, goats and of course, horses; all animals considered vital to both the history and modern economies of the Americas.

The new presence of these animals, all either nonnative or extinct in the Americas for thousands of years, changed life for native peoples significantly; large livestock animals allowed farming cultures to become ranching cultures, and the horse allowed native tribes the nomadic freedom to hunt large animals such as bison.

With trade between Europe and the Americas open for the first time, some New World animals were introduced to Europe as well. Turkeys, llamas, alpacas and guinea pigs were all introduced to Europe and Asia, where they are now common.

Though there is some debate over who actually “discovered” the New World, there is little doubt that the animals introduced during the Columbian Exchange affected it in a very profound way.

National Animal: American Buffalo

The American Buffalo (Bison) is an awesome animal. It is strong, loyal, tough, and always faces a storm head on. No wonder it has emerged into a symbol of strengh for America.

'Buffalo' is something of a misnomer as this animal is only distantly related to either of the two "true buffaloes", the water buffalo and the African buffalo.

The bison originally inhabited the Great Plains of the U.S. and Canada in massive herds, ranging from the Great Slave Lake in Canada's far north to Mexico in the south, and from eastern Oregon almost to the Atlantic Ocean. To learn more about this animal, view my previous bison posts.

The American bison is often used in North America in official seals, flags and logos. In the U.S., the American bison is a popular symbol in the Great Plains states. Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming have adopted the animal as their official state mammal, and many sports teams have chosen the buffalo as their mascot, including the University of Colorado Buffaloes.

Several American coins feature the bison, perhaps most famously on on the reverse side of the "buffalo nickel" from 1913 to 1938. In 2005, the United States Mint coined a nickel with a new depiction of the bison as part of its "Westward Journey" series. The Kansas and North Dakota state quarters, part of the "50 State Quarter" series, each feature bison.

National Basketball Championship

We had fun matching up Mascots for the Big 12 Basketball Tournament. Now that the Kansas Jayhawks will be playing in the finals of the Men's National Championship, let's see if the Memphis Tigers can measure up – Animal-wise.

You can find the definition of a Jayhawk in our March Blog archives. Remember, a Jayhawk is not a real bird, but an amalgam of a Blue Jay and a Sparrow Hawk. A rather formidable creature if it ever did hatch into existence.

Tigers are the largest of all the wild cats. There are 6 recognized sub-species and they roam throughout Asia. Tigers are an apex predator; there is no more dominant animal in their environment. They prefer large game, such as buffalo, elk and boar. Although they can leap higher than any other cat, save the American Mountain Lion, tigers do not hunt birds. They do, however, kill an average of 50 people a year.

What does all this mean for the National Championship? Besides it promising to be a wonderful game, I really can't say. How do we at the Jungle Store want it to turn out? I'll answer by leaving you with another interesting animal fact. The Tiger's saliva contains natural antiseptics. All the better to lick its wounds with.

Thanks to KennKiser and Morgue File for the photo.