Canada, Where a Buffalo Can Roam And Watch TV
By Scott Pattison /Reuters
EDMONTON Alberta (Reuters) - For thousands of years, the majestic North American buffalo roamed freely over the wide-open plains of the Canadian Prairies.
Today, most of these brown, woolly beasts spend their time grazing on ranches -- or in the case of Bailey, watching TV in the living room of an Alberta family's home.
Jim and Linda Sautner are the proud owners of Bailey, a nearly four-year-old bison, who has a penchant for spending his time inside the couple's home, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) west of the provincial capital of Edmonton.
"My wife wouldn't let me bring my German Shepherd puppy in the house one day, so I got even with her by bringing Bailey in," Jim Sautner said on Wednesday.
"He's made a mess on the carpet a couple of times, so now we bring out an ice cream pail whenever he gives us that look," he added wryly.
The Sautners, who own 270 head of buffalo, have become accustomed to having the 725-kilogram (1,600-pound) beast in their living room staring at the television.
"He prefers to watch 'The Nature of Things'," said Jim, referring to the Canadian nature television series hosted by world-renowned environmentalist, David Suzuki.
The couple rescued Bailey as a baby, after the calf was abandoned by his mother. Along with farm hands, they bottle-fed Bailey with milk on a daily basis and the affinity for one another grew rapidly.
Christmas was especially memorable at the Sautners this year with 21 wide-eyed guests sitting down to a dinner of mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, and bison meat balls -- with the furry giant snorting behind them.
"Bailey didn't mind," said Linda Sautner.
Although the Sautner's have lost more than C$1.6 million this year on their bison meat business, the indirect result of a case of mad cow disease that shut down much of Canada's beef industry, they have no plans to put Bailey up for sale.
"He knows he'll never be buffalo burgers because he's an ambassador for the bison industry," said Linda.
The laid-back Bailey, who has been neutered, has been involved in some unusual promotional stunts, including showing up in the lobby of three-star hotels and climbing with Jim to the top of a grandstand at the Calgary Stampede rodeo.
"We're likely going to find Bailey an agent after all of this settles down," said Jim, who once leased horses to Disney for filming.
LOL
i guess they have double doors...
