Home on the range: Bison born at South Park Buffalo Preserve
Courtesy of Tim Foster
Courtesy of Tim Foster
Diane was born at the South Park Buffalo Preserve on April 4.
Courtesy of Tim Foster
Courtesy of Tim Foster
Big Head sticks out his tongue for a treat at the South Park Buffalo Preserve.
Courtesy of Tim Foster
Courtesy of Tim Foster
Diane is shown with her mother, Rosie, moments after being born.
Courtesy of Tim Foster
Courtesy of Tim Foster
Big Head enjoys a strawberry.
Courtesy of South Park Buffalo preserve
Blue, the newest member of the South Park Buffalo Preserve, was born April 22.
Courtesy of Buffalo Bob South Park Buffalo Preserve
Courtesy of Buffalo Bob South Park Buffalo Preserve
Lily nurses Lily at the South Park Buffalo Preserve.
The herd of buffalo continues to roam 鈥� and grow 鈥� at South Park Buffalo Preserve.
Late last month, first-time mom Lily gave birth to a male named 鈥淏lue,鈥� becoming the second bison born this month at the southern Allegheny County preserve. Mom Rosie gave birth to 鈥淒iane鈥� on April 4.
Tim Foster, who lives near the preserve and volunteers there with his wife, Diane, said Blue鈥檚 birth was a little rougher than Diane鈥檚 because Lily is a first-time mom.
Caretaker 鈥淏uffalo Bob鈥� Kuzma had to assist in delivering Blue, pulling the newborn from his mother. It also took Blue a while to get on his feet and nurse.
Diane Foster 鈥� for whom the other baby bison was named 鈥� went to the store to get organic milk, which Bob fed to Blue to help him gain some strength.
Buffalo have roamed in South Park for some time. In 1927, an Allegheny County commissioner purchased 18 buffalo and brought them to the area amid fear of the animals鈥� extinction. They have been a staple of the area since.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e such a tame animal,鈥� Tim Foster said. 鈥淲e can feed them. 鈥楤ig Head,鈥� who鈥檚 the big male, will take strawberries out of my hand better than any dog you would try to give a treat to.鈥�
The Fosters were at the preserve April 4 when Rosie wandered off into the woods by herself.
鈥淲e were the first ones to see her go off on her own,鈥� Tim Foster said. 鈥淲e were walking down the hill to leave and saw her walking down to the woods by herself. My wife, a mom of twins, said, 鈥楽he鈥檚 going to have that baby.'鈥�
Buffalo Bob told them that it could be a few days to a week before the baby was born. However, they went to the woods to check on Rosie and the birth was already underway.
鈥淚t was pretty quick,鈥� Tim Foster said. 鈥淲e had a buffalo baby that was up taking its first steps. To see the baby come out with that reddish color, it was just amazing.鈥�
Some names were bandied about for the new bison, but Buffalo Bob decided on 鈥淒iane.鈥�
鈥淲e do a lot of volunteer work, but we don鈥檛 do it for the accolades,鈥� Tim Foster said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool. It鈥檚 well-deserved. It鈥檚 funny to hear people up there say, 鈥楾here鈥檚 little Diane.'鈥�
The new female bison can stay on the preserve, but Blue likely will be moved in a year. Buffalo Bob prefers to keep only one male on the preserve to protect the herd and prevent the possibility of fights.
Tim Foster said they initially became involved when they worked to stop plans to rezone the area for high-density housing.
鈥淥ne of the things we got concerned about was the buffalo preserve,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople forget about them. They鈥檝e been here for almost 100 years. So many more people need to know about this. Just doing a couple of news stories from there and doing the Facebook page that we started have put them back on the map a little bit. It鈥檚 been an amazing pleasure to get to know these animals.鈥�
Blue鈥檚 birth brings the bison population at the preserve to 12. However, that number will be growing again, as two more bison 鈥� Violet and Daisy 鈥� are expecting very soon.
鈥淒aisy, the dominant female, is so big, that Bob is joking she may be having twins, which is very rare,鈥� Foster said. 鈥淏ut when you see one that big, either it鈥檚 going to be such a big baby or it鈥檚 going to be twins.鈥�