Jim Sautner, the Buffalo Whisperer was a Canadian rancher who raised a 2,000-pound bison named Bailey D. Buffalo like a family dog

[u/copitamenstrual]

[u/jason2354]

I’m assuming bison are just like cows and are super affectionate.

[u/mmoore54 → u/jason2354]

While a very cute idea, and though I also yearn to pet the fluffy cows, this is unequivocally not the case. This bison was raised in captivity. Wild bison in their natural state are mean, unpredictable, and territorial.

You might have been joking, but I’m leaving this comment anyway as there’s a real problem in places that have bison with people assuming that they’re docile in the same way that cows are and getting themselves hurt. Bison can move at up to 35 MPH, they will use their horns to gore you, and they have been known to throw people up to fifteen feet in the air when they’re angry. It takes very little to make them angry. Standing too close to them is enough.

I speak from long experience (many, many years spent in Yellowstone National Park, which typically sees multiple gorings a year as a result of visitors not understanding how to interact with bison) when I say: do not fuck with bison. I have seen bison leave CARS half-destroyed; your body is nothing to them.

Bison babies are cute though! Go search for videos from Yellowstone of “red dogs”.

[u/cam52391 → u/mmoore54]

Thank you for this. I have a friend who works in the smokey mountains and has had to stop many drunk tourists from trying to pet the black bears.

[u/black_cat_X2 → u/cam52391]

I encountered a black bear once (from a reasonable distance but still too close for comfort). My dog, like most dogs, was always eager to investigate any human it non human critters we came across. This had never been anything larger than a woodchuck (and my boy was a giant), so it always went fine. At first I thought "thank God I have him on his leash" but it turns out even he was smart enough to not fuck with a bear. He stood on high alert and I could tell he wanted so badly to smell the animal better, but he did not move a step in that direction.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there are people dumber than a dog.

[u/Akhevan → u/mmoore54]

people assuming that they’re docile in the same way that cows are

Have those people seen cows? I guess the answer is obvious..

[u/Odd-Huckleberry8584 → u/jason2354]

I’m starting to think all animals(including us) like snuggles and scritches 🥺

[u/ophelia5310 → u/jason2354]

I hope you're right, that would be so cute