It’s late, and the alarm clock for first light goes off early, but I wanted to send a quick note to our supporters. I arrived in Gardiner on Sunday evening – just in time to greet some of the first groups of buffalo to come out of the park this winter.
Monday they all stayed safe – sticking around the entrance of the park, and I enjoyed the day reuniting with the buffalo, the rest of the wildlife friends, and with the land. I was even honored by the presence of an early morning wolf.
Today, Tuesday, was a different story. We got word last night that the Park intended to capture, and right from the morning the buffalo were streaming out of the park and heading north, seeming to beeline for the trap. The Park captured over 100 buffalo – pregnant moms, yearlings, and juveniles. The buffalo were lured into the trap with hay, and then five agents on horseback came around and closed the gate.
They first captured a group of 59 buffalo. The agents on horseback immediately pushed those buffalo to another pen, spread more hay in the outer pen, and opened the gate again to trap another group.
As that second capture happened, another group bypassed the trap and headed north towards Beattie Gulch and danger. I’ll be out at first light tomorrow and will be sure to send you a more detailed update then.