(This posting was actually started on May 22nd. I just forgot about it until now.)
I have been through Yellowstone National Park a number of times, and one of the images that stays with me to this day involves buffalo. As a family, we were making our way through the park in our car. I was about 14 years old at the time. At one point, up ahead, we saw a few cars pulled over. All the kids bustled knowing that we were about to see something close to the road. Of course, we hoped it would be a bear, or even a moose. But, to no great surprise, it was a small herd of buffalo. After the collective sigh, we noticed something weird was happening. There was a guy holding a 2 year old girl - AND HE WAS WALKING TOWARDS A BUFFALO! This particular buffalo was on the ground, yet not on his side, so his back was in the air. Well, this "father of the year" walks right up to the buffalo and sits his daughter on its back. He then steps back, pulls out his camera and shoots a few shots! Luckily, the buffalo realized how stupid he was and didn't take it out on the little girl (now days that would be on YouTube and this guy would be in a whole lot of trouble).
A little later on that same trip, we approached another herd of buffalo. This time, there was another guy taunting them. It wasn't long before he was charged. Lucky for him, there was a tree nearby which provided a barrier. I can still see his smiling face as he played peek-a-boo with a buffalo.
That takes me to a conversation I had with Jared, my 5 year old son. We were watching National Geographic one Saturday morning, and it was one of those programs that tries to determine how and why someone died at the paw/horn/antler/claw/hoof/teeth of some animal. In this particular case, they were investigating attacks by a water buffalo. Jared and I watched as they explained the first incident. Evidently, a few hunters were standing around talking when all of a sudden a buffalo came out of nowhere to kill one of the men. They then moved on to a second incident in the same area. Only this time, a female hunter w
as charged and badly injured.
Having never hunted big game, I was wondering what kind of moron would put themselves in such a position. I would later come to find that I wasn't the only one thinking this way.
During a commercial, I went upstairs to see what was happening up there with the rest of the family. I was up there for just a bit, when I heard Jared yell, "DAD, DAD, DAD! Hurry, come here. You have to see this!!" I came downstairs and his eyes were the size of saucers - Bending over at the waist, with his arms out wide, he yelled, "ANOTHER GUY GOT KILLED BY A WATER BUFFALO!!" I responded, "That's crazy!" To which he said, "See Dad, that's why we should just leave the animals alone."
I don't suppose he'll want to go hunting anytime soon.
I have been through Yellowstone National Park a number of times, and one of the images that stays with me to this day involves buffalo. As a family, we were making our way through the park in our car. I was about 14 years old at the time. At one point, up ahead, we saw a few cars pulled over. All the kids bustled knowing that we were about to see something close to the road. Of course, we hoped it would be a bear, or even a moose. But, to no great surprise, it was a small herd of buffalo. After the collective sigh, we noticed something weird was happening. There was a guy holding a 2 year old girl - AND HE WAS WALKING TOWARDS A BUFFALO! This particular buffalo was on the ground, yet not on his side, so his back was in the air. Well, this "father of the year" walks right up to the buffalo and sits his daughter on its back. He then steps back, pulls out his camera and shoots a few shots! Luckily, the buffalo realized how stupid he was and didn't take it out on the little girl (now days that would be on YouTube and this guy would be in a whole lot of trouble).
A little later on that same trip, we approached another herd of buffalo. This time, there was another guy taunting them. It wasn't long before he was charged. Lucky for him, there was a tree nearby which provided a barrier. I can still see his smiling face as he played peek-a-boo with a buffalo.
That takes me to a conversation I had with Jared, my 5 year old son. We were watching National Geographic one Saturday morning, and it was one of those programs that tries to determine how and why someone died at the paw/horn/antler/claw/hoof/teeth of some animal. In this particular case, they were investigating attacks by a water buffalo. Jared and I watched as they explained the first incident. Evidently, a few hunters were standing around talking when all of a sudden a buffalo came out of nowhere to kill one of the men. They then moved on to a second incident in the same area. Only this time, a female hunter w
as charged and badly injured.Having never hunted big game, I was wondering what kind of moron would put themselves in such a position. I would later come to find that I wasn't the only one thinking this way.
During a commercial, I went upstairs to see what was happening up there with the rest of the family. I was up there for just a bit, when I heard Jared yell, "DAD, DAD, DAD! Hurry, come here. You have to see this!!" I came downstairs and his eyes were the size of saucers - Bending over at the waist, with his arms out wide, he yelled, "ANOTHER GUY GOT KILLED BY A WATER BUFFALO!!" I responded, "That's crazy!" To which he said, "See Dad, that's why we should just leave the animals alone."
I don't suppose he'll want to go hunting anytime soon.
3 comments:
You may be raising a potential "tree hugger"
hey, you better turn that TV off...see what can happen? Next time Jared runs into a water buffalo,in the wild, he'll be a wussy & run or something.
To avoid raising a tree hugger or a wussy you could let him watch "Death on the Run" by Mark Sullivan & Nitro express safaris. There is a reason they call the water buffalo the black death of Africa.
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