Where the buffalo roam...

by Suzi Taylor
From the 1997-98 4-H Clover Project Selection Guide

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QUESTION: What has four stomachs, can weigh up to 2200 pounds, lets a pet cat ride on her back, and comes running when you call her name?

ANSWER: This mystery creature is Buffalo Gal, a one-year-old baby buffalo whom Mary Pepion has adopted as part of her newly created 4-H Orphaned Animal Project.

Mary, who lives north of Browning on the Blackfeet Reservation, has cared for and observed Buffalo Gal for the last six months. Buffalo Gal came to live with Mary and her family in November 1996 after Ira NewBreast of the Fish and Game Department discovered the orphaned buffalo and asked Extension agent Verna Billedeaux if she knew of any 4-H'ers who would be willing to take on the responsibilities of raising the orphaned calf. Mary says she was "shocked but excited" at the offer and decided to accept the challenge.

Mary, a junior at Browning High School, and her parents really had no idea what to expect of their new companion, who was about the size of a large dog and could fit in the back of a Suburban. Now Buffalo Gal is estimated to weigh 600 to 700 pounds, and the Pepions know more about raising a baby buffalo than they ever dreamed.

In fact, Mary is compiling her information into a handbook that could eventually be used for other 4-H'ers interested in caring for an orphaned animal.

Through trial and error, she discovered what Buffalo Gal likes to eat (a mixture of alfalfa, straw and wild grass) and some of her behavioral habits (When the Pepions vaccinated her, she stood in the barn and pouted; when she hears the door slam on the horse trailer where her food is kept, she comes running.) Mary also researched how her ancestors had used buffalo and studied some of the modern-day business aspects of raising buffalo. Mary's whole family has stories of Buffalo Gal's amusing behavior, such as how she walked over deep snow drifts to leave her corral and vmake camp" by the kitchen window all winter.

But Mary is quick to remind that Buffalo Gal is still a wild animal. As the buffalo has grown older, she has discovered her horns, using them to break open straw bales and fend off the family's dogs. She is sometimes moody--chasing after strangers one minute, making contented "purring" noises the next. The family has tried to stay away from Buffalo Gal in recent days, in order to wean her away from human contact and prepare her for the real animal world.

Since caring for a baby buffalo is basically unfamiliar territory, Mary has used a variety of sources to learn all she can about buffalo, from knowledgeable relatives to books to the Internet.

"My favorite part of the whole project has been watching her and figuring out what she likes," says Mary, who has kept detailed notes of Buffalo Gal's habits and actions. "It's been fun! I would really recommend it!";

But Mary says she's careful not to get too attached to her new "pet"-- Buffalo Gal will be introduced back into the Blackfeet Reservation's herd of buffalo this summer. "The question isn't whether the herd will accept Buffalo Gal," says Mary. "It's whether Buffalo Gal will accept them!"

"When I think about her being gone, it's kind of scary wondering what will happen to her when she's out in the wild with her own kind," says Mary. " But knowing Buffalo Gal, she'll be a bossy little buffalo! This way she'll have miles and miles of running track to play, eat, sleep and be happy. I'll miss her, but I know she belongs with her own kind."

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