Bison baby thinks she's a horse

MERIDIAN, Okla. (AP)--"The only buffalo she's ever seen are in pictures," said Chad Yackeschi. "She thinks she's a horse."

Yackeschi is director of the Comanche Land Management Department. He and his wife, Sheila, are also surrogate parents to a 7 1/2-month-old, 300-pound bison baby. They've opened their home--and hearts--to Buffy since she was first orphaned as a young calf.

Yackeschi first brought Buffy home after she had fallen into a creek during a rainstorm and he roped and pulled her to shore. Several other calves couldn't be rescued, he said. He said the calf's mother went over a cliff and died, leaving Buffy an orphan.

"We lost several head that night," he said.

"She rode home with me in that floorboard right there," Yackeschi said, pointing behind the passenger seat in his extended cab Dodge pickup. Tiny and shaken, the young calf began a new life that night.

The young buffalo has become an example of the species to educate the public, Yackeschi said. She was kept in a pen located next to his camp at the Comanche Fair in September. Buffy's presence opened the door for people to come over, ask questions and soak in the spirit of an animal that plays such an important role in Comanche heritage.

"She was the hit of the parade," Sheila said following the Comanche Nation Fair parade. "We were stopped constantly to have our picture taken."

The couple and their son, Dakota, walked with the buffalo through the parade route and halted the procession repeatedly as audience members rushed into the path to take a picture with Buffy. In front of the grandstand, she even took a bow for the crowd.

"She's a little showboat," Yackeschi said.

Buffy's home is in a pen at the Yackeschi spread in Meridian, just north of Comanche, appropriately enough. She's at home among 14 horses, a mess of pigs and chickens and a five-pack of "skunky dogs." The dogs got the nickname for their lingering aroma from the hunt the night before. Among those dogs is Buffy's best friend, a brown dog named Rope.

In the stall next to her, a bay horse is the newest friend. Yackeschi said the two share alfalfa and maybe a good laugh as well.

Sheila told of being inside Buffy's pen the day before when the precocious calf charged up, bumped her and knocked her over.

"You have to be braced for her hits," she said.

Buffy reacts to Sheila like a mother. Sheila remembered Buffy as a "tiny little thing" when she first arrived and provided warmth by lying next to Buffy in the pen. The two bonded over bottle feeding and time spent together every day.

Yackeschi opened the gate and let the young buffalo out of her pen. She began to graze on the backyard's green grass.

"Hold on and see how she acts when her mama comes out," he said.

The sight of Sheila stepping through the back door threshold sent Buffy rearing on hind legs. The calf's bound was reminiscent of an image from an old Marmaduke cartoon. A short chase followed before Buffy caught Sheila and began licking her hands. The young bison nuzzled against her mama, staying close with each step.

"She talks to ya," Yackeschi said. But first he has talk to her.

"Thppt," is either "Hey" in buffalo or the sound of a listener being buffaloed. The answer comes when the calf responds with a raspberry of her own. When you see a herd of buffalo in the wild, they tend to keep quiet, Yackeschi said.

"I didn't know what they sounded like till I brought her home," he said. "She just did it one day."

Buffy also received a warm reception at the Western Heritage Celebration in Duncan. Yackeschi said she was calm and presented well, even walking to disabled people who couldn't make their way to the grazing pasture to let them touch her.

She's become an ambassador for the program and, in turn, the Comanche people. Buffy's been invited to appear at Walters High School for a Native American Month activity, and other offers have been made.

At 7 months old, Buffy's become a big girl. She's only going to get bigger, because full-grown cows can weigh 800 to 1,000 pounds. She hasn't missed a meal, Yackeschi said. Her stage of development parallels the stage of her thick coat's approaching winter growth--awkward and akimbo. But she continues to grow and is still a born-wild, wild animal.

What happens if Buffy gets too large or wild for the homestead?

"We take it day by day," both Yackeschis said. Yackeschi has heard stories of people who have taken buffalo in and have had success, at least until they're old enough for breeding.

But hopes are high. If environment is the deciding factor, then Yackeschi believes Buffy may be buffaloed into thinking she's a horse.

Of course, there may be ulterior motives behind his thinking. Yackeschi's also heard stories about people who have saddled buffalo and ridden them. The lifelong Comanche horseman grinned when he spoke of it but said his wife's objections overrule his wants.

In the evenings, people driving near the little town of Meridian may see a sight not quite expected. The couple and calf--and a pack of "skunky dogs"--taking an after-dinner walk. And like on any other parade route Buffy's known, anyone who stops and asks will learn about the buffalo and Comanche people.

12/29/08
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Date: 12/19/08

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