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Aug. 12th, 2008 08:19 amYesterday I drove out to Leduc, a small city about 25 km outside of Edmonton. I thought Leduc was just a town, but it's actually a tiny city. I went to meet with a woman from the Bison Centre, which was formerly known as "The Bison Centre of Excellence". Anyway, Linda and I hit it off, partially because she had her dog in the office and he and I fell in love the second I walked in the door. I stayed for two hours and we talked about the bison industry in Alberta. I think I've got a good story from our talk.
Linda also told me about Bailey the Buffalo, who was an ambassador for the bison industry. She and her husband had raised Bailey, who was an orphan. He'd been bottle fed, and bottle fed babies are always more comfortable with humans. When he was five months old, he was still submissive and responsive to her husband, who has an incredible way with animals. Her husband, Jim, halter broke Bailey and started training him. Then he convinced Linda that Bailey should be allowed to be in their house. Linda argued against it, saying that the bison would panic and break things, but he didn't. Eventually Bailey became a "presentation animal". He stayed at the Weston hotel, attended a school, appeared in three movies, went to the Stampede each year, and met the premier and the Queen. Prince Philip even rubbed his nose.
Bailey appeared on numerous television shows including David Letterman, Ellen Degeneres and Montell. You can see some photos of him hanging out in his owner's home at Bailey the Buffalo . I like the shots of him watching television, and advising people not to watch "Dances with Wolves."
Unfortunately, Bailey passed away this year in a tragic accident. He got his foot caught in a bale feeder and was forced to lay down for a long time. I didn't know that large animals, like horses and buffalo, are unable to breathe if they spend too long lying on their sides. Apparently, their diaphrams collapse due to the weight of their own bodies, which is why horses who break their legs are often shot in the movies.
Bailey was much loved by people, and Linda and her husband have received numerous consolatory phone calls, cards and emails from people across Canada and internationally. They've already started training another young bison who was orphaned. The training is going extremely well, and the new buffalo calf already rides in the cab of their pick up with them and attended this year's Calgary Stampede.
Linda also told me about Bailey the Buffalo, who was an ambassador for the bison industry. She and her husband had raised Bailey, who was an orphan. He'd been bottle fed, and bottle fed babies are always more comfortable with humans. When he was five months old, he was still submissive and responsive to her husband, who has an incredible way with animals. Her husband, Jim, halter broke Bailey and started training him. Then he convinced Linda that Bailey should be allowed to be in their house. Linda argued against it, saying that the bison would panic and break things, but he didn't. Eventually Bailey became a "presentation animal". He stayed at the Weston hotel, attended a school, appeared in three movies, went to the Stampede each year, and met the premier and the Queen. Prince Philip even rubbed his nose.
Bailey appeared on numerous television shows including David Letterman, Ellen Degeneres and Montell. You can see some photos of him hanging out in his owner's home at Bailey the Buffalo . I like the shots of him watching television, and advising people not to watch "Dances with Wolves."
Unfortunately, Bailey passed away this year in a tragic accident. He got his foot caught in a bale feeder and was forced to lay down for a long time. I didn't know that large animals, like horses and buffalo, are unable to breathe if they spend too long lying on their sides. Apparently, their diaphrams collapse due to the weight of their own bodies, which is why horses who break their legs are often shot in the movies.
Bailey was much loved by people, and Linda and her husband have received numerous consolatory phone calls, cards and emails from people across Canada and internationally. They've already started training another young bison who was orphaned. The training is going extremely well, and the new buffalo calf already rides in the cab of their pick up with them and attended this year's Calgary Stampede.
