Bison Up Close and Personal

I've been meaning to write this blog for a while, so excuse the delay. Approximately two weeks ago, we went to the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge as a class to partake in the bison round-up. The entire experience was incredibly interesting and informative. I loved getting to walk through the chutes and see the round-up from the perspective of the bison. As we walked through the small enclosures leading up to the chute, it was hard to imagine that in just a couple minutes they would be filled with charging bison. The chutes were tiny and seemed to get smaller and smaller as we neared the end, squeezing the bison into tiny versions of themself. I would like to think that I'd never be forced into such a tiny little space if I were a bison, but I cannot even imagine how they must feel in such a stressful situation. 

This is a picture of a medium-sized chute among the larger enclosures. I like how the lines in this picture form both parallel and perpendicular junctions, including the shadows.

While I was sitting in the dry grass waiting for the bison round-up to start, one of the volunteers found a tiny, unassuming scorpion under a nearby log. This discovery was not comforting. I have never seen a scorpion outside of an glass enclosure, so this real-life sighting was a bit too eye-opening. From now on, I will be taking a great deal more caution when sitting on the ground.

I could not find the species of scorpion online, but I appreciate how my phone captured the small details, such as the the small ridges and tiny eyes.

Once the actual round-up started and the bison started running through the chute, I was able to watch the veterinarian perform his routine health checks; these checks included multiple injections, scanning ID tags, and assessing for any notable injuries. To me, the veterinarian seemed fearless. The bison were thrashing so hard against the chute, I was sure that the gate would completely break down. When the male bull was released from the chute, he actually paused and turned around for a couple seconds as if he would come charging back towards us. Soon after the male bull was released, a female cow came into the chute that was bleeding profusely from a sizeable gash on her neck. From my perspective, I could not see the actual gash, however, I could actually hear the blood hitting the pavement. The veterinarian stitched up the gash while the female cow was in the chute, which he reported was very uncommon.