Some of the dark wooly fur on one of the
animals looked shabby and a small heifer was missing a horn. “The
younger ones aren’t growing to their full size because the bigger
ones won’t let them eat,” she explained. “ If they
were grazing on a pasture there would be plenty of food for all of
them.”
Quiñones said she had a signed contract with Tony Virgilio,
owner of the Ozena Valley Ranch, to let her animals graze on his fields
with his buffalo for two years. But less than nine months later he
had all of them penned up in a dry lot, and told Quiñones he
wanted them off his land.
“The herd got too big for us to maintain,” said Virgilio’s
wife, Ali Virgilio. “They were getting through the fences and
destroying our neighbor’s property so we’re trying to
get rid of some of them and lessen our herd.”
Initially their agreement was that Quiñones would graze her
buffalo on Virgilio’s ranch with their animals in exchange for
19 buffalo, half of Quiñones’ herd. But the Virgilios
told her they would give back all of her animals that were in their
care if she would get them off the property as soon as possible.
On Tuesday, Tony Virgilio and Quiñones checked the tags on
each of the buffalo to sort out Quiñones’ bison and confirmed
that five of her animals were missing.
She still got more back than she would according to the agreement,
said Virgilio. He wasn’t sure what happened to the missing animals
but said they might have gotten out or died of natural causes.
“They were in really poor shape when I got them,” Virgilio
said.
Quiñones was disturbed when she realized that she was missing
her two bulls.
“They aren’t a herd without bulls; they can’t breed,”
she said. But unfortunately Virgilio said he only recalls receiving
heifers and the contract did not state anything specific about bulls.
The 38 buffalo Quiñones brought to Virgilio’s farm were
what was left of the 74 plains bison she picked out with David Saunders
a year ago in South Dakota. The plan had been to bring them to the
Lockwood Valley to be bred and raised by Native Americans.
The intention was to work with bison medicine and bring buffalo back
to the indigenous people, she explained.
But the truck that was transporting them got stuck in the mud during
heavy rains in central California in March 2006, and the driver released
all 74 buffalo in what appeared to be a rash attempt to lighten his
load, according to the Monterey County Weekly.
Since then, Quiñones’ two partners in the project, Saunders
and Maiwo Agdeppa, signed the bulls over to her and she has been trying
to round up the stray animals who were turned loose somewhere north
of Lake Nacimiento in San Luis Obispo County.
Virgilio then agreed to care for the 38 animals Quiñones was
able to recover and bring to the Ozena Valley.
Despite her dispute with Virgilio, Quiñones’ primary
concern now is to get proper care for the remainder of her herd.
So Quiñones found a home for her animals, a 3,000-acre pasture
in Lockwood Valley where she transported them on Wednesday evening.
After their tumultuous journey from South Dakota, and the past two
months in a pen, her animals were clearly in rough shape. Some of
the smaller bison had been roughed up and trampled, their hides were
mangled and they were missing patches of fur.
“What we are looking for now is a veterinarian to donate time
or someone to donate money for veterinary care,” said Quiñones.
“These animals have been under a lot of stress.”
Quiñones is still striving to bring her herd to health and
back to Native Americans.
For thousands of years, the bison breeding had supported Native Americans
living in the Great Plains. They bred them, ate their meat and used
their furs.
In the mid-1800s settlers began hunting them for furs and the U.S
Army encouraged their total destruction in an attempt to starve out
Native Americans.
By the late 1800s, their population was reduced to approximately 40
animals from an estimated 30 million a century before.
In the early 1900s, they made a comeback after awareness had spread
of their near extinction. Today, buffalo populations is estimated
at 350,000, according to Wikipedia.
In the past 10 years, bison meat has grown in popularity due the reputation
of its quality in gourmet cuisine and its rich protein content.
Research from the North Dakota State University has shown that it
is more nutritious than many other meat sources because of its high
concentration in iron and essential fatty acids, according to the
National Bison Association web site.
Quiñones said she does not want to publicly disclose the new
location of her herd until she is sure they are safe and in good health.
Anyone interested in donating funds or veterinary care should e-mail
her at echobuffalo@yahoo.com,
or call 643-0887.
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