The Laughing Wolf

My Secret Identity Discovered

Last weekend, I discovered that my secret identity has been revealed. While out at Wolf Park, someone was talking with a staffer and said something like "Satan did (it)" and without anything else being said, the staffer turned and looked straight at me. Good to know what they think of me, and also probably good to know that my cover is blown. Yes, I know I accused Blackfive of it, but that was just tradecraft.

Wrangling bison yesterday may have also earned me the title of "Beaner of Bison." I took my lunch hour yesterday morning to help out at Wolf Park with vaccination and worming of the bison. Getting started required coaxing Spike, the head bull, to move away. Spike wasn't interested, so Zammers and I went in to work the issue -- in a truck, as crazy we may be, stupid I try to avoid. Zammers drove us up and I was in the back, and after re-loading with apple chunks, we got close. I needed to get a chunk of apple near Spike to get his attention, and lure him towards those already thrown in a vain effort to move him, or just to get him out of the way. I picked my spot and threw -- and beaned Spike in the face near his eye. That got his attention. My next few throws were better, and we got him away enough to get started.

Started included acting as part of a mobile "wall" (at least it is that from the POV of the bison), to get the chosen bison into the chute for the squeeze cage. Being on the end of the mobile wall, I found myself more-or-less eye-to-eye with more than one unhappy bison looking to escape. As in just a couple of feet between us, and if they had figured out that they could break the wall with ease or decided to try to take the end of the wall (and one did think about it) it would not have been pretty.

As soon as we let out the first vaccinated and wormed bison, however, Spike burst into the holding pen, causing the call to go out and everyone to run and climb like hell. It seems that one of the bison cows in the chute leading to the squeeze cage was his current favorite lady, and Spike was not happy. Not happy to the point that if he could have gotten anyone, at best they would have been maimed for life. I was standing next to the Vet when this happened, and I went up, flipped out and over the overhang, and got up on top of the squeeze cage in just about two seconds when the call went out. It is most interesting to have more than 1,200 pounds of large, angry bison jumping up, attacking things, and giving you very nasty looks (did he remember the beaning?) from just a few feet away. Yep, #16 in spades, or spikes. I'm taking Monday afternoon off to go help with doing as much of the rest of the herd as possible.

LW