Romance on the Prairie
The Buffalo rut is in full swing at the ranch. It’s what brings the herd back together after the calving season is over and the kids are two to three months old.
The bulls will challenge each other when “tending” the female (like courting) - working hard to keep the other bulls away. They’re not always successful. Older bulls, tired of being challenged and chased away, will often wander off by themselves.
In this clip a bull that has stayed by himself for most of the summer shows up for the rut. What happens next is incredible to watch. After the dominant bull is established, the herd settles down and continues to move as a whole unit again. It is a truly magical time on the prairie. We hope you enjoy this window into the life of the herd!
Not sure what to make of that, but nice seeing them circling around and such.
I couldn’t really even figure out which one was “dominant” but it is good to hear that they all travel together — unless of course they get tired of being challenged.
Beautiful images of an animal that once roamed all 48 lower states. In the early 1800’s….one could stand in one place and it would take 3 days for the entire herd to pass by you. That was until the white invaders brought religion, disease, and white culture to the plains. Thank the gods that there are a few people who still try to maintain some modicum of what it must have been like in those pre-white invasion days.
Thanks for the images.
Magnificent! Thank you for this insight and picture of how these wonderfully created creatures live once they are free to roam and are allowed to live as they were meant to live. You should feel a great deal of satisfaction in this.
Thank you for the video Jill and Dan. Took some friendsfrom St Louis out to Scenic to Tom Troples, and showed them Dale’s progress on Dignity. They were in awe of the sculpture, and of Tom’ s buffalo. Gave them your book, " Buffalo with a Broken Heart",
Hi Penny. There are many breeding Bulls in our herd and they all travel together. Only the Bulls that have tired of being challenged will move away from the herd. Hope all is well in the NE!