Where The Buffalo Roam

First, let me start by saying that this is a true story which is still unfolding as I share these details with all of you.

@knarly327 and I moved away from the geographical area that we are originally from in 1995. Many of our family members still live in the same area where they were born. They never moved away (like we did).

Our Brother-in-law is no exception.

In fact he and @knarly327's sister still live on the same homestead that's been in my Brother-in-law's family for 7 generations. It's a 100 acre farm.

Originally, the land was used to grow crops.

Beef cattle, pigs and chickens were also raised to feed the entire family and any surplus produced was sold for cash. This let the family buy additional supplies and the things that they couldn't produce themselves like cane sugar and salt.

Our Bother-in-law has 13 other brothers and sisters.

In the early 1960s (when he was born) a family with fourteen children was still considered an average size for a family who farmed. Each one of the kids grew up learning how to produce and grow their own food and how to fish and hunt. Everyone did and these skills were considered basic life skills for the area, in that time period.

To This Day, Our Brother-in-law Still Runs A Deer Hunting Camp That Is Situated On His Family's Land

To hunt deer (in this section of Canada) a special license is required by law. This license is called a "tag" and usually (once a person pays for their yearly deer hunting license) they are granted a "tag" for either a doe (female deer) or a buck (male deer). The tags are randomly assigned and by law, if you're granted a doe tag (for example) you are only allowed to shoot a female deer. If you are caught by a Game Warden without a tag or with an animal that doesn't match your tag, or during a time that you shouldn't be hunting, you will be heavily fined. In addition, your guns and vehicle can be confiscated on the spot and you can even go to jail. It is considered quite a serious offense.

As deer hunting was coming to an end this year, our Brother-in-law was able to capture the photograph (below). 

Normally, This Ridge-line Would Be Populated By Deer 

Instead, the silhouette looked like a lone American Buffalo!

Yeah, everyone at the hunting camp concurred. It looked just like an American buffalo.

A few farms away (about 10 miles or 16 kilometers) there is a farmer who is currently raising a herd of American buffalo. Our Brother-in-law paid a visit to this farmer to inquire as to whether this farmer was missing an animal from the herd. The farmer reported that (in fact) he had lost the animal in the Spring but had written it off because American Bison can run really fast and it couldn't be caught or re-captured. Several attempts were made, but to no avail. The farmer was amused that the bison was still alive, but had pretty much wiped his hands of the animal out of pure frustration.

Next, our Brother-in-law spoke with the authorities. You know, just to find out where exactly they stand on "wild buffalo".

(I'm sure that's not a question, they field every day.)

He was told that no special license was required and that if the animal started destroying crops or became a threat, he would be well within the law to take action.

These are recent "trail camera" shots from close to our Brother-in-law's deer hunting camp.

I'm not an expert, but this looks like a 4 year old buck to me. Buck's have antlers and usually the number of points on their rack ( a rack is what a set of antlers is called) denotes how old the animal is.

This (on the other hand) looks like a young female American Bison to me. LOL!

Imagine the surprise one would have to know that you have a wild American Bison on your land!

I have no idea folks, what's going to happen to this beautiful animal. It's a bloody wonder it has even survived this long, considering it has had to learn to forage, find fresh water to drink and hasn't been shot or taken by wolves, coyotes or cougars.

I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey... I will be very surprised myself if there is ever a dull moment. ;D

Merry Christmas Everyone!

May you each be blessed with peace, happiness and prosperity. 

~ Rebecca Ryan