Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

The first buffalo calf born on the West side of Yellowstone National Park died early this morning, Sunday April 9th. BFC volunteers, on their early morning patrol of the North side of the Madison, noticed the carcass among the willows where the calf and its mother had been feeding for the past few days.

The calf was born during the night before the most recent hazing operation conducted last Thursday April 6th by the Montana Department of Livestock, together with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Gallatin County Sheriff personnel and the National Park Service. Using cracker barrel shotguns and snowmobiles, the Department of Livestock ran a mixed herd of fourteen buffalo over two miles from the North side of the Madison back into the Park.

BFC volunteers stood between the buffalo mother and its newborn calf and the DOL agents and watched while the animals attempted to make their way down the bluff towards the river and away from the hazing. By the DOL's own admission the calf was too young to move and since Thursday, BFC volunteers have been monitoring the calf's progress on a regular basis and have noticed its deterioration over Saturday and Sunday.

Horse Butte is traditional spring calving habitat for buffalo as well as home to a wide range of other wildlife including elk, moose and bald eagle. "The DOL say they are ensuring the health safety of livestock and citizens but chasing pregnant females around makes no sense even from a disease control point of view," said a BFC volunteer on the scene today. "All it does is create unnecessary stress for pregnant buffalo, as well as pregnant elk and moose, thereby increasing the risk that these animals could abort, suffer injury or die."

Hazings such as happened last week are completely unnecessary. Cattle will not be brought back to the area for another two months. They waste taxpayer money and interfere with wildlife at a time when animals are particularly vulnerable. Buffalo Field Campaign works to defend the buffalo on their traditional habitat and to advocate for their long term protection and conservation. The Campaign has consistently called on the DOL to cease their policy of hazing and slaughtering the last wild and free roaming buffalo herd in the U.S.

Contact: Daniel Brister, Tiffany Brown, (406) 646-0070

Dan Brister has been working with the Buffalo Field Campaign since December of 1997. He alternates winters on the Yellowstone boundary with falls in Missoula, Montana where he is earning an MS in environmental studies. Send email to: dan@wildrockies.org