topic Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized in Community Chat

Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Marp — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:08:57 GMT

I know there are three or four or more threads about the baby bison already but they have pretty much devolved and are discussing other things so I chose to start another thread to share the following for those asking why the park service put the calf down instead of taking alternate measures. The following is an excerpt from http://abcnews.go.com/US/yellowstone-euthanize-bison-calf-visitor-put-car/story?id=39194412 :

Park rangers spent over two days trying to get the bison calf to return to a herd, but it just kept getting rejected, Reid said. She added that the calf "wouldn't eat" and kept returning to the roadway and seemed to "be very imprinted on cars and people."

"Rangers had to make the tough decision because we didn't want it to get hit or cause an accident that could harm itself or other people," she said.

Reid also explained why the baby bison couldn't just be sent to a wildlife sanctuary or zoo.

"You have to understand that we're not in the business of animal rescue," she said. "It's also illegal to transport wild bison outside the park without having them tested and monitored for brucellosis."

Brucellosis is a disease that causes abortions, infertility and lowered milk production in bison, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

"The park just doesn't have the facility or capacity to quarantine, test and monitor the calf," Reid said, adding that the process also takes months.

"It was just a very inhumane situation," she said. "The calf was either going to starve to death, get sick, get hit or cause an accident, so we had to make the difficult decision to put it down."

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Bird mama — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:14:21 GMT

@Marp

Without starting a rumpus, exactly how long was the baby bison in the car?

I didn't realize how quickly a bison could imprint on people.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

nunya — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:17:36 GMT

A park spokesman said once the smell of humans are on the calf, the herd reject him.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Kachina624 — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:19:41 GMT

The problem with brucellosis is that it can be transmitted to cattle. That's why the ranchers in Montana have a fit about the bison mingling with their herds. They have eradicated the disease and don't want it back.

When we have these animal issues, well-meaning people always jump in with the "Why couldn't theys" without knowing or considering all the ramifications. This has been a PR nightmare for the park service.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Bird mama — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:20:23 GMT

@nunya

Thanks nun ya. I primarily work with birds who don't have an acute sense of smell which is why my rescue/releases tend to work out :-)

It makes sense.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Marp — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:32:18 GMT

@Bird mama, I haven't seen any reports about how long the baby bison was in the car/with people.

Articles did stress that it was taken to a ranger station in the park's northeast corner but that is meaningless to me because there is no information about where the baby was originally located or how far away from there that particular ranger station is.

Without logical explanation or any basis in fact my feeling is that the tourists did not make a beeline to the nearest ranger station but continued their route until they arrived at the station where they notified staff.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Bird mama — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:35:25 GMT

@Marp

@Kachina624

@nunya

Well, I won't belabor the point as I am sure the humans involved knew no better and their hearts were in the right place. That said, I hope this is a lesson for anyone who paid attention to the story. It's okay to want to help, but GO GET the help.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

goldensrbest — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:37:36 GMT

@Marp Becareful, there is no warning on your thread, the mean people may come at you!!

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

nunya — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:44:32 GMT

@Bird mama

A lady said the buffalo were crossing a river and the baby got swept downstream and was alone, collapsing and shivering.

http://kutv.com/news/local/utah-woman-says-she-took-video-of-yellowstone-bison-calf-before-tourists-put-it-in-suv

So although wrong, it does explain why they tried to help.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Bird mama — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:47:27 GMT

@nunya

Oh boy, that's a tough one. I know myself really well and if I saw that and had somebody else in the car with me old enough to drive, I would have to say, hey, take the car to help and I will stay here to keep an eye on the baby. If nothing else, to make sure it didn't fall back in the water.

I so understand how hard it is to fight the desire to intervene, when you love animals.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

GingerPeach — Wed, 18 May 2016 21:06:33 GMT

It may be that the baby bison wasn't imprinted on people.

Last night on PBS was an episode of My Wild Affair.

A conservationist in Kenya helped rescue a very young orphan elephant back in the 70s. One of the things she learned was that young elephants (and so, perhaps bison and related mammals) instinctively seek out larger objects (not live objects, necessarily, but trucks or tractors, etc.) near which they feel safe, as if it is their mother. (There's much more to the story if anyone is interested.)

So, once the herd rejected the baby bison, he may have been trying to be near the cars since they were so much larger than himself.

If so, it kind of makes the story all the sadder.

The whole brucellosis thing could be handled as well if parks were better funded. Clearly, our parks are very much underfunded and can only take action to the limit their funds permit.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Kachina624 — Wed, 18 May 2016 21:04:30 GMT

@Bird mama wrote:
@Marp

Without starting a rumpus, exactly how long was the baby bison in the car?
I didn't realize how quickly a bison could imprint on people.

@Bird mama Bernie, it couldn't have been in the car very long. I've seen the picture of it in the back of a SUV and there's no poop on the floor or any stain. I wouldn't think it would imprint that fast either but I guess it did. It was very young.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

Kachina624 — Wed, 18 May 2016 21:14:00 GMT

@GingerPeach wrote:

The whole brucellosis thing could be handled as well if parks were better funded. Clearly, our parks are very much underfunded and can only take action to the limit their funds permit.

I was at Yellowstone two years ago and can say, you're exactly right. I'd been there before and can say it's really gone downhill and was in horrid condition. It's way overused and everything is shabby and run down. I would not bother going there again. Too many people and not enough $$$.

Re: Why Baby Bison Euthanized

SXMGirl — Wed, 18 May 2016 23:20:07 GMT

I think that most people know not to handle animals in the wild because of rejection. However, we also have many compassionate people, and there apparently were several people who had video of this calf being in distress. I can only think that the park rangers knew that and it is survival of the fittest. No matter the reason, it is a very sad situation.