These photos of the violent head-butting clash of two buffalo bulls and a bull trying to upraise a dead brother that was gunned down at a hunt sanctioned by Montana livestock officials illustrate the life of buffalo at Yellowstone National Park.
Right now is the season of the buffalo rut at Yellowstone, when most of the 4,000 wild buffalo gather in the lush Lamar and Hayden Valleys. This is the time when bulls challenge each other for the right to court buffalo chicks. Buffalove can be tough.
An article in a Montana newsaper described the scene (above photo) after a buffalo bull had been shot: "Do bison grieve? Decide for yourself. Three bulls slowly gathered around their fallen brother, the carriage of their tails registering distress. One, in particular, seemed especially anguished; he pawed the motionless shoulder as if to rouse him. Getting no response, he nudged the body with his head, then with the shank of his horn. Again and again he nudged and butted and pushed; finally, in an act of utter pathos, he lay down in resignation next to the body."
The reporter was criticized for attributing human traits and emotions to the buffalo, but the reporter shot back, "Anyone who has spent time with bison knows that they are gregarious, social animals who form strong bonds with each other. It is arrogant of human beings to believe that we are the only ones who have a claim to emotions like happiness and grief."
The buffalo at Yellowstone are the subjects of much controversy, some saying that as the last wild herd they should be allowed to thrive naturally, whereas others say the bison numbers should be controlled because if the herd gets too large it will outgrow its habitat and starve.
Both sides agree that habitat preservation is a key, and construction in the area should be controlled. "The most serious threat to the bison is habitat encroachment, not hunting," writes a resident of the Yellowstone area. "Every person who buys a 20-acre 'ranchette' in bison habitat, fences it off and develops it does more harm to the long-term survival of the bison than a hundred hunters. The people building are destroying bison habitat that cannot be replaced. The real question we should be asking ourselves is, 'How can we preserve this habitat?' "
1 comment:
I have no doubt animals grieve. Life coexists through a symbiotic relationships, and full communication between species would emotionally disrupt that balance. It is through blind ignorance that humans of all species by now should understand love really has no boundaries. Without attachments, either chemical based or spiritually rooted, no specie of a higher order would survive. Imagine every mother walking away to leave its baby to die. A cat, dog, elk, birds laying eggs then flying away, elephants, and whales. Whether or not we admit it or know it, there is more to life than meets the eye. Could we shoot a deer, or slaughter a cow if we knew the emotional pain it caused? Most would be eating carrots instead, and then the human race would not have evolved. Life depends on other life to survive. One day humans will also run out of space, if population isn't brought under control, and then what?
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