15 loose buffaloes that crossed New York highway are killed

By JOHN KEKIS and MICHAEL HILL17 hours ago

COEYMANS, N.Y. (AP) — Fifteen buffaloes that escaped from a farm were intentionally shot and killed Friday after they dashed past a group of police, crossed a major highway and ended up near some schools, authorities said.

"The last thing we wanted to do was put these animals down," Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said. "But it wasn't a safe scene."

Three men hired by the farm opened fire on the animals Friday afternoon in woods in the town of Coeymans, about 10 miles south of the capital.

Bethlehem police Lt. Thomas Heffernan said the decision was made after experts agreed tranquilizers would not be effective and no portable corrals or trailers could hold the animals.

They escaped Thursday from a farm across the Hudson River in the Rensselaer County town of Schodack. The owner believes they swam across the river to the town of Bethlehem, where they wandered across a busy stretch of Interstate 87 and into neighboring Coeymans as a police helicopter tracked them.

Read on ...

How do you solve a problem like the 'Beefalo'?

2 March 2015 Last updated at 00:26

By Anne-Marie BullockProducer, Costing The Earth

When American Buffalo were cross-bred with domestic cattle, a hybrid dubbed the "Beefalo" was spawned. But the creatures escaped and are now causing environmental havoc in The Grand Canyon. Some want a cull, but is this the best way to deal with the animals?

There is a strange hybrid creature - an alien, the result of a failed breeding programme - causing havoc in the Grand Canyon.

Its destructive ways are alarming both environmentalists and Native American groups who want it removed, yet tourists find it so intriguing they're putting their lives at risk to catch a glimpse.

So just how do you solve a problem like the "Beefalo"?

Out on the canyon's North Rim it's estimated that at least 600 beefalo - a crossbreed of bison and domestic cattle - are roaming.

This thirsty beast can consume 10 gallons each per trip to a watering hole, which means they can drink a source dry in no time.

But the animals' environmental impact doesn't stop there. They also defecate at the watering holes and their hefty weight compacts the soil.

Their leisurely dust baths and healthy appetites leave the ground bare.

Continued ...

Buffalo area island teeming with abandoned cats

A small island near Buffalo has a big cat problem thanks to people who have abandoned felines there over the years.

WIVB-TV reports that hundreds of feral and abandoned cats are believed to be on the Niagara River's Tonawanda Island.

Mike Charnock owns a marina and restaurant on the 85-acre island just north of Buffalo. He says the cats are making a mess of the island, and even have gotten onto boats at his marina.

Read more ...

Disease free buffalos re-introduced into Marakele National Park

October 2013. South African National Parks (SANParks) has re-introduced a herd of 20 disease free buffalo, comprising of nine cows and eleven bulls, into Marakele National Park, situated outside Thabazimbi in Limpopo Province. 

Removed in 2009 due to disease

According to SANParks Head of Veterinary Wildlife Services, Dr Markus Hofmeyr, the re-introduction of this high value species follows the removal of all the buffalo in 2009 due to a disease called Theileriosis which was diagnosed in the buffalo that roamed the area.

Dr Hofmeyr said the first test to determine the disease prevalence in the area was initiated in 2011 with the re-introduction of 15 sentinel bulls. "These bulls were tested again in April 2013 and confirmed to be negative for Theileriosis allowing the state vets to lift the quarantine status on Marakele fully."

According to Dr Hofmeyr it was important for SANParks to remove the buffalo at that time because it could have had a negative effect on the livestock in the neighbouring farms.

He said it is quite exciting to once again have a healthy population of buffalo in the park after a few years of absence. "We are now confident that the area is free of Theileriosis following negative testing earlier this year. This herd of buffalo was born and kept in Graspan, near Barkley West close to Kimberley and will be able to adapt with ease in Marakele." said Hofmeyr.

Marakele National Park is situated in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains, just ten kilometres outside of the town of Thabazimbi in the Province of Limpopo and is approximately 250km north of Johannesburg. The mountainous scenery, buffalo and many other animals are the main attraction to this park.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/marakele.html

NY city's dead skunk depot stinks up neighborhood

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Residents of a Buffalo, N.Y., neighborhood plagued by skunk odors now know what caused the stink: Trapped critters that were shot and stored at a shuttered police station.

The Buffalo News reports (http://bit.ly/18myscv ) that the city's public works commissioner confirmed Monday that humanely trapped skunks have been taken to an old police station in South Buffalo, where they're shot and stored in outdoor freezer until they can be incinerated.

Residents say they complained about the smell months ago but were told by city officials that skunks weren't being killed inside the building. Later, they were told only a few skunks were killed there by lethal injection.

One neighborhood leader has dubbed the community scandal "Skunkgate."

City officials say they're looking for new locations for dispatching the nuisance skunks.

___

Information from: The Buffalo News, http://www.buffalonews.comhttp://news.yahoo.com/ny-citys-dead-skunk-depot-stinks-neighborhood-134242071.html

World’s rarest buffalo, the Mindoro dwarf buffalo, reaches highest level for many years in the Philippines

Hope has Horns in Mindoro - Words and Photos by Gregg Yan
I am a bush. Heavily-camouflaged by a sniper's Ghillie Suit and betrayed only by the scarlet glint of my field binoculars, I cautiously observe our quarry, a herd of tamaraw, emerging from a billowing field of cogon, not 50 metres away.

"We're within charging distance," warns our eagle-eyed tracker, Edgardo Flores. While hot, heavy and earthen-smelling, my leafy Ghillie Suit fools no one, as the buffalo herd stares right at us. Should they attack, Plan A was to scramble up the nearest tree. Plan B was well ... we hoped Plan A would do.

Guided by spotters atop nearby Magawang Mountain, we took 30 minutes to approach this herd. Sloth-like, I exchange the binoculars for a telephoto, framing three buffalo forming a skirmish line, preparing to charge. As I click they bolt off, bounding back to the brush with more grace than any carabao can dream of.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Philippines-dwarf-buffalo.html#cr

Buffalo rampages through Vietnam kindergarten

A BUFFALO injured 10 people in a Vietnam city after rampaging for three hours through crowded streets, houses and a kindergarten.

The male buffalo plunged across a river in Hue as villagers encircled it, before breaking into a nearby house, terrifying three family members in a bedroom and breaking a bed, VnExpress reported.

Two people were seriously injured after they were butted by the animal during its 20km rampage through the city last week.

It was finally stopped after it smashed into a private kindergarten and teachers were able to close off gates to trap it. Soldiers had to shoot it eight times to stop it causing more damage.

The injured people, some thought to have head injuries, were treated at Hue Central Hospital.

It was unclear what caused the animal to embark on its rampage, but one theory was it escaped after a botched attempt to euthanize it at a slaughterhouse, the website reported.

No one has come forward to claim the animal.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/the-other-side/buffalo-rampages-through-vietnam-kindergarten/story-e6frfhk6-1226356416707

Bailey the Buffalo

When it comes to temperament, buffalo have a bad reputation. They can be ornery and even downright dangerous, but at the Stampede an unusual bison named Bailey is bucking that trend.

Jim Sautner loves animals, especially his one year old bison Bailey Junior. Jim has raised since it was a baby.

"He's like any family. He is there in the morning. When I get up he comes and greets me."

He also rides in his car and lets Jim ride him. That's unusual for a bison, generally the animals aren't known for their friendliness

"They are probably the most dangerous animal there is when they've got calves with them."

But this bison rancher from Spruce Grove is something of a buffalo whisperer. He can train bison to do unbelievable things. He even taught Bailey Sr. to line dance!

The original Bailey even met the Queen.

Bailey Sr. died a year ago after getting his leg caught a bale feeder. Jim and his wife Linda were devastated. That same month Bailey Jr. was born. The animals aren't related but Jim says, "He's only a year old he acts like an old hand. I think Bailey Sr. is down here too."

And while Bailey Jr. still acts like a baby, sucking Jim's hand like a soother and taking a swipe at a nearby pot of flowers at the Stampede grounds, the legacy of Bailey the Buffalo lives on.

Sautner hopes Bailey Jr. will make it into Ripley's Believe It Or Not as the only buffalo to ever ride in a convertible.

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090708/cgy_bailey_bison_090707/CSI

The real zoo escapees that mimic the cartoon characters in Madagascar

RIGHT: A Bactrian camel wandering through traffic. Dozens of animals at English zoos have managed to give their keepers the slip. Photo: ALAMY

A survey has revealed some of the unusual ways in which animals have succeeded in escaping from zoos across the country.

By Jasper Copping
Published: 8:45AM BST 04 Jul 2010

In the film Madagascar a group of cartoon animals breaks out of New York's Central Park zoo in an attempt to escape into the wild.

Alex the Lion is helped over the perimeter wall by his friend Melman the giraffe, while Gloria the hippopotamus smashes her way straight through, followed by Melman and some monkeys.

The scenario might sound fanciful, but real zoo animals appear to be just as determined and resourceful as their cartoon cousins in liberating themselves from captivity.

The Sunday Telegraph has uncovered details of exactly how dozens of animals at English zoos have managed to give their keepers the slip.

The methods of escape range from gnawing a hole in their cages, to scaling fences and crossing moats. In other cases, the creatures have simply capitalised on human error and got out through doors in their cages that were left open.

The real life escapees include:

• Akea, cheetah, who climbed over an 8ft high solar powered electric fence after it developed a fault. Fortunately, he was swiftly recaptured after he was spotted by a nine-year-old boy playing in his garden and returned to nearby Hamerton Zoo, near Huntingdon;
  
  
• A pack of dholes, or Asiatic wild dogs, which chewed through the fence of their pen at Howletts Wild Animal Park, near Canterbury. While some were quickly returned to the enclosure, others spread out in the surrounding countryside, leading police to warn the public not to approach the animals. The last one was not located for three days;
  
  
• A wolf which gnawed a hole in the wire mesh around its enclosure at Combe Martin Wildlife Park, Devon, and then crawled under the zoo's gate. The animal headed out onto a road near the adjacent village and was seen by a passing motorist, who raised the alarm;
  
  
• A wallaby at the same zoo which got out after the door to its enclosure was left open. The wallaby remained at large for several days in the surrounding countryside;
  
  
• A forest buffalo, an African creature which normally weighs up to 565kg, which managed to push the wire of its fence high enough to squeeze underneath it, although it did not succeed in getting out of the grounds of Marwell Zoo, near Winchester;
  
  
• A sulewesi crested macaque which got off its island compound at the same attraction. The animal was found to be wet when it was recovered elsewhere in the zoo, leading keepers to think it had been in the moat around the island;
  
  
• A flamingo, which flew out of the same attraction because staff did not realise it had not had its wings pinioned. It was spotted in a field by a member of the public and eventually recaptured.

Chris Newman, an exotic species expert and adviser to Defra, said: "Animals will be animals. Many of them are very inquisitive and this just shows how opportunistic they are."

One of the most endangered escapees was a red panda called Peter, which got out of his enclosure at London Zoo in the middle of the night and ran into Regent's Park where he climbed a tree.

Security staff alerted keepers who stayed under the tree monitoring him throughout the night. Attempts to coax Peter down with food failed and he had to be shot with a dart.

The information was disclosed in a series of Freedom of Information Act requests to councils, which must be informed of escapes, under the conditions of the licences they grant to zoos.

Each attraction must also hold four "practice escapes" over the course of a year in which a member of staff will play the part of an animal which has got loose.

Miranda Stevenson, director of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said: "We have to accept that things go wrong and to be prepared for these eventualities which we hope are very few and far between.

"Most escapes are not of dangerous animals."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7870260/The-real-zoo-escapees-that-mimic-the-cartoon-characters-in-Madagascar.html

'World's biggest animal sacrifice' held in Nepal

Up to a million Hindus gathered at a temple in southern Nepal on Tuesday to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism.

By Our Foreign Staff
Published: 5:21PM GMT 24 Nov 2009

Worshippers travelled long distances, many coming from neighbouring India, to attend the controversial ceremony at the in the jungles of Bara district, about 100 miles south of Katmandu. The two-day Gadhimai festival honouring the Hindu goddess of power takes place once every five years in southern Nepal.

A huge cry of "Long Live Gadhimai!" went up after the temple's head priest launched the event with the sacrifice of two rats, two pigeons, a rooster, a lamb and a pig.

The crowd then rushed to a nearby field, where 250 sword-wielding butchers began the mass slaughter of around 20,000 buffalo, brought by devotees to be sacrificed near the holy temple.

Animal rights activists have held demonstrations in recent weeks in towns near the Gadhimai temple and in Nepal's capital Katmandu, protesting against what one Nepalese minister said was the largest animal sacrifice in the world.

Critics say the killings - carried out by slitting the animals' throats with swords - are barbaric and conducted in a cruel manner.

However, Hindu organisers refused to halt the slaughter, saying it is a centuries-old tradition. Participants believe sacrificing the animals for Gadhimai will end evil and bring prosperity. The slaughtered animals are taken back by devotees to their villages and eaten during a feast.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/6645024/Worlds-biggest-animal-sacrifice-held-in-Nepal.html

Best wildlife videos: animals attack

Photos of a crocodile attacked by hippos have amazed wildlife enthusiasts and thrilled lovers of the natural world. Here we showcase the best online videos of animals attacking other animals.

By Harriet Alexander
Published: 6:51PM GMT 16 Nov 2009

Simba and his Disney friends may have convinced us that the natural world is populated by fluffy cute animals, but in truth it really is a jungle out there - as these hit videos show.

Over 47 million people have seen the epic video entitled The Battle at Kruger, which shows a baby water buffalo being attacked by a pride of lions.

As the lions drive their prey into a lake, a crocodile emerges to try and steal the animal from the jaws of the lions, before the whole herd of buffalos return - with spectacular results.

Almost speechless, the guide tells the group of tourists: "I've never seen anything like this before."

Another dramatic battle, viewed over 10 million times, sees an anaconda wrestling with a panther.

The sleek black animal thrashes in the water with the giant snake, which writhes and squirms in the panther's claws until it is finished off by a jaguar.

But it is not all bad YouTube news for the snake kingdom.

In this National Geographic video, seen six million times, an anaconda hunts down a capybara in Venezuela.

The anaconda, which can grow up to 7.5 metres long, tracks the rodent before launching a lightening-fast strike and coiling round its helpless prey.

In colder climes, leopard seals and penguins engage in a tactical battle on the ice.

One penguin plays dead to be able to slither away when the seal loosens its grip, only for the resourceful seal to then lie in wait for more emperor penguins to jump into its jaws.

In Argentina, two killer whale brothers launch themselves onto the beach to snatch sea lion cubs, before returning to the deeper water and throwing their prey through the air.

But if the brutal reality of the natural world proves too much, then this clip of a monkey teasing a tiger - complete with comedy sound effects - will help. The cheeky monkey swings through the trees, dropping down to cuff the bemused animal on its head and pull its tail.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6583574/Best-wildlife-videos-animals-attack.html

I saw UFO beam up a buffalo

By BRIAN FLYNN
Published: 02 Nov 2009

STUNNED Derek Bridges has revealed how he shot extraordinary footage which UFO experts say shows aliens beaming a BUFFALO into their spaceship.

Pensioner Derek filmed the eerie scene from his window after spotting pulsating glowing orbs hovering over a neighbouring farm late at night.

The two bright lights hover high over fields, while an animal appears to dangle below before vanishing into them.

A high-pitched screeching noise can be heard before the UFOs finally disappear into the night.

Grandfather Derek, 69, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm convinced it is the real thing."

He told how he spotted the bizarre lights over a neighbouring farm as he looked out of his window while getting ready for bed at his house near Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Quick-thinking Derek grabbed his camcorder and began filming the incident above 2,500-acre Laverstoke Park Farm in Overton village at about 10.30pm.

It has one of the country's biggest herds of water buffalo and is close to a military base used by special forces.

Derek said: "I just looked out of the window before going to bed. I wasn't sure what I was seeing at the time.

"I have a keen eye and I could see something glowing which looked dark red about half a mile away.

"I kept looking at it for about 20 minutes and then suddenly a bright white light appeared which was very powerful.

"At that point I picked up my video camera and filmed what I saw. I saw two white lights lifting up and I just kept filming. The lights were high in the sky. They couldn't have been anything on the ground.

"I did not realise at the time that something was dangling beneath but when I played it back the next day on a big screen I could see it there.

"I believe it's a UFO and this animal, which could be a bison or a horse, seems to be being beamed up.

"As far as I know, this is the first time anyone in the world has filmed animal abduction, so obviously I'm pretty chuffed."

UFO experts claim there is a long history of cattle being abducted by aliens for research, particularly in the US, sometimes being returned alive or mutilated.

There are often reports of animal carcasses found lying in fields with body parts mysteriously missing and their blood drained without the skin being spilt.

Divorced Derek told how he spoke to a farm worker who said they had found a couple of dead animals around the time the lights were filmed.

The farm - owned by 1979 Formula 1 champ Jody Scheckter - insists no cattle have gone missing

Boss Sara Whittall said: "We have never seen any aliens or UFOs around here.

"All our animals have been accounted for, so we have not had any abductions either."

But the area is a hotspot for UFO sightings.

In June last year, families in Basingstoke reported seeing a dozen glowing orange objects hovering in the sky above the town.

The "alien" fleet was captured on video, changing formation for half an hour.

Officials at nearby RAF Odiham said they could not comment at the time "for security reasons".

A trucker also reported seeing aliens just six miles from the farm in August 2007.

The footage has now been screened at a conference of UFO hunters in Scarborough.

Expert Nick Pope, who used to run the British Government's UFO Project, said the latest footage needed urgent investigation by the authorities.

He added: "If this footage is genuine, it could be highly significant."

UFO hunter Kenneth Parsons of the British Earth and Aerial Mysteries Society said he was convinced it was the first ever footage showing aliens abducting cattle.

He added: "This footage is like the holy grail. This is the first time anything like this has been filmed so clearly.

"There are no street lamps or pylons where the footage was filmed, just fields, and it is usually pitch black and silent at night, so there is no simple alternative explanation.

"We are very excited."

Derek told how he looked out of his window the next evening to see if the lights came back - and saw three helicopters flying around the field as if searching the site.

The Ministry of Defence yesterday declined to comment on the incident, saying only: "The MoD examines UFO reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity.

"Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported."

Meanwhile UFO experts are being urged to investigate another case of aliens playing Cattlestar Galactica to steal cows.

A US cattle rancher is blaming extra-terrestrials after finding a mutilated cow with its internal organs removed on his land.

Mike Duran claims ET abducted his animal and made a surgical study of the beast before abandoning its carcass.

The cow was found with its udders and reproductive organs removed in Las Animas County, Colorado, in March.

And Duran says it happened after he spotted strange lights hovering in the skies above his ranch. "They were like a round circle in the air," he said. "I've watched them and they just disappear."

See video at: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2708680/I-saw-UFO-beam-up-a-buffalo.html#ixzz0VtYslxPw

18 die as buffalo rammed by train

Click to enlarge

Metro.co.uk, Monday 26 October 2009, p12.

Buffalo makes light work

A farmer who couldn't work out who kept turning on the light in his barn was shocked to discover the culprit was his buffalo.

Mo Zhaoguang, from Nandan, in China's Hubei province, said his family had repeatedly found the barn light on over the last five years.

"My wife and I quarrelled many times, each accusing the other of having a bad memory," he told the Wuhan Evening Post.

Eventually Mo slept in the barn overnight to identify the culprit - and found his buffalo was pulling the cord switch with its teeth.

He claims it turns on the light when it is hungry or thirsty - and then turns it off again after eating or drinking to go to sleep.

"It turns the light on to look for food or water - and it also even turns it on and off to get our attention if its trough is empty," he added.

"I told this to villagers but none of them believed me. One man even bet me 10 Yuan every time the buffalo turned on the light, and that night I earned 50 Yuan as the buffalo turned the light on and off five times."

Mo's buffalo has now appeared on Chinese television and people have been visiting from far and wide to see its party trick for themselves.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3502535.html?menu=

Albino buffalo spotted by Kenyan rangers

Rangers in Kenya's Hellsgate National Park have spotted an albino buffalo, the first of its kind ever recorded in the wildlife rich country.

By Aislinn Simpson
Last Updated: 10:24PM BST 24 Apr 2009

The three-month-old calf is easily distinguished from the other buffaloes travelling with it in a large herd by its very light brown coat.

It has only just been spotted, months after its birth, because its herd was largely confined to obscure, shaded areas to mitigate against recent drought conditions.

Nelly Palmeris, senior warden at Hellsgate, said the find was an exciting one.

"This is the first time that an albino buffalo has been found in our parks and it's a great day for nature and animals lovers," she said.

But there are also concerns for the young creature, whose lighter colour will make it a more noticeable target for predators.

The cultural stigma against albinos, both animal and human, among the Maasai farmers that live near the park, could also create a threat.

"The African community and especially Maasais associate albinos with bad omens. We are just coming from a bad drought and the Maasai might associate the famine with this buffalo and kill it," Mrs Palmeris said.

She said that rangers have enhanced security around the herd to ensure the Maasai do not attack the calf.

While the rare sighting is a first for Kenya, albino buffaloes have been spotted in several other countries.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/5216623/Albino-buffalo-spotted-by-Kenyan-rangers.html