River Ranch Diary

In late November the buffalo went out to pasture on grasslands managed by the US Forest Service. That was shortly after a relatively early, tough and somewhat destructive blizzard that we dug ourselves out of when the skies cleared. The one or two good things about the blizzard were that it was not very cold and it provided some welcomed moisture.

Since then our weather has fluctuated from almost balmy (read 40’s F) to way below 0° F (read -20°+). Nobody really wants to be outside on those cold days. Once in a while it is unavoidable. On the nice days, being outside is often very pleasurable. On the nice days, the skies clear and the sun comes out. If you are interested in seeing wildlife, that is the time to do it–even if it is cold. Everything that has hunkered down out of the wind has used up most of its stored energy staying warm by burning off its fat, which it needs to re-supply. Hence animals and birds are all out looking for a meal.

Eating is a stark necessity; so when the opportunity presents itself, they take advantage of it. Predator a prey alike soak up the sun and search for food. Most animals on the prairie have something above them on the food chain. Mice and rabbits feed on whatever within their diet range they can find to ingest, mostly seeds and grasses. Horned Larks and Grouse come into pastures and stubble fields in search of sustenance. The predatory birds: eagles, hawks and falcons and animals: coyote and fox, etc. follow them. Antelope appear in the open prairie; deer show up along the edges. Every hunted and hunter remains alert.

On warm days, perhaps in the 40’s F, Dan and I sometimes take our horses, Booner and Sonny, across the river into the Forest Service grazing unit. There, we look for the buffalo to see how they are doing and to see where they are, where they like to go. We try to study their habits so we might be more natural to them and more proficient for ourselves in our herd management style.

The buffalo herd is a fairly structured social unit. In that regard we try to create management techniques they accept. All of this really means is that we want them calm, not domesticated, not pet-able, but approachable. Being calm allows them to be somewhat tractable. We can show them where a gate is for example, and take them through it. Thus they learn where to go and then go there without panic. We do not eliminate their wildness, and we do not damage their social structure. We try to use this approach to our advantage—and to theirs.

On a recent excursion Dan and I crossed the river and found the herd. We got a rough count of them. A few of the big bulls, as usual, had separated themselves from the main herd. We located them in a grassy meadow, a very pleasant place with an intermittent creek (dry at this time), a few Cottonwood trees, some rocky inclines studded with Cedar trees. Holding court in this bachelor pad was our old friend Curly Bill, fat, shaggy, and massive. We watched him from a short distance for a few minutes. He and his buddies knew we were there. On alert they looked at us and seemed to recognize that they were not in danger and continued grazing. All was right with their world. We rode on.