I stopped by Buffaloland yesterday. I’m happy I did because it was a lovely sunny day and today it rained all day. Seeing them having a lazy afternoon always leaves me with a tranquil feeling.
Mother Buffalo with their calves. The mothers are watchful that no one harms their babies. If there was danger the whole herd would circle around to protect them. A few birds are also hanging around.
Later on the calves will lose the orange color and their fur will turn dark like the adults. The characteristic hump will develop as they get older.
I met a young couple with two children while walking down to see the babies. The children looked to be 3 and 4 years old.
They were enjoying seeing the buffalo. As the couple tried to put them in the vehicle to leave, the two youngsters kept screaming,
“No, no, I don’t want to go!”
The buffalo are losing their thick winter coats. They will look a lot sleeker once the winter fur is shed.
These three look to be fairly young buffalo.
I must have got there at siesta time as most of the herd were resting.
This one looks quite old and the hump is huge. I wonder if this is the leader. The leader of the herd is always the oldest female. If something happens to her he next oldest female takes the lead. An interesting fact about these magnificent animals.
This herd started with a male and female given to Prince Edward Island by the government of Alberta, Canada in 1973.
As the herd grew in number, to keep the herd under control it was culled and the meat sold. Now the herd is not run by the PEI government but by the women Buddhist. They have sterilized the males to keep the herd under control.
I thought one male had somehow escaped the sterilization but, apparently, one male could not be tranquilized - no matter how many times the vet tried. I guess he’s still there having the time of his life with no competition from the other males.
With the new calves there must be about 60 in the herd.
Buffaloland is located at Milltown Cross about 9 km (5 mi.) from Montague. P.E.I. There is no charge to see the buffalo.
All photos are mine unless otherwise sources.
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