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TRANSCRIPT
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Because of what I learned in Yellowstone, the
management focus of our Iowa herd had to be
entirely different than seen in today’s public and
private herds. Tall Grass Bison started in 1976 with 3
animals and now has 5 family groups and 400 bison
on 1000 acres.
This concept of social order herds can be applied to
all private and public herd managers. Economic and
philosophical considerations of both go hand-in-
hand.
To us, raising buffalo means a lot more than the buzz
and social contact folks get at the sale barn. Our
definition and application of “holistic” is decidedly
different than what others refer to.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 1
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
It would have been counter productive for bison to be any other than environmentally compatible if they were to flourish as a species. Knowing that bison have the same extended social families as humans, allows us to become connected to life on our planet. But with knowledge comes conscience and this means we have no other choice than to be more respectful of the animals we eat. Also, it is a given that nature is most efficient and thus we cannot exclude any herd animals from being a part of nature’s efficiency. We can use this knowledge of social order, which is the key to nature’s efficiency, and apply it to private enterprise.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 2
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
This can be applied to any livestock operation,
whether cattle, pigs or sheep.
Without language developing and without extended
family bonding these private herd dehorned cows are
about as lonely and untrusting as one can expect. It
is not a life any animal should have to endure.
With support systems in place and without the fear of
being left behind, getting a drink is a lot more orderly.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 3
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
What one sees in Yellowstone, extensive animal use
without riparian damage, can be duplicated in private
herds infused with social structure.
A hike up Yellowstone’s Hayden Valley reveals
environmental compatibility, with large animals in
large numbers, at the water’s edge… without
degradation.
Whiteman is so blind! He thinks of bison as multiples
of individuals, not as extended family herds. In fact,
they have the same infrastructure requirements as
functioning corporations and cities. It was much less
destructive for indigenous people to remove a whole
family than cripple the efficiencies of multiple
families.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 4
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Herd animal management applies to ALL herd
animals. Note the space between the groups of
cattle. It is because these groups are families.
“Fear” is not the same thing as “wild” and “function” is
not dependent on this fear.
While there are very tangible economic benefits,
there are additional, more esoteric values to having
social order herds on the land. Just as there are
other than economic reasons for most of us that raise
bison rather than cattle.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 5
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Research was conducted on small mammal
populations in our pastures with buffalo grazing
compared to similar neighboring pastures that had
cattle. It was found that the population significantly
increased, double and triple, for the pastures with
buffalo. It might be partly due to the increased over-
wintering capability, as well as survivability of young.
Also, the species of mouse that predominated was
different. Bringing the bison back to the land is
perhaps returning the flora and fauna back to what
was historically there.
Prairie birds also benefit from the wool as nesting
material, similar to the wool increasing the ability of
the mice to keep young warm. The wool also gives
the birds purchase, as can be seen here with Brown-
headed cowbirds in Yellowstone. Birds can hang on
to the wool, unlike the slick coats of cattle.
We see the same thing on our farm. Here, a Starling
perches on the nose of one of our buffalo. You won’t
see this with cattle. They don’t have the wool for the
birds to grip. Also our buffalo have learned from each
other the benefits of this relationship with the birds.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 6
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
These birds perform a valuable function. Rather than
rely on insecticides to reduce the fly population, we
take advantage of the birds. Flies can be a problem
in our herd, such as causing further damage to
already injured eyes.
The birds get a free meal and the bison get a free
insect grooming.
On occasion there can be more of a problem with
flies than the birds can handle. So we help them out
with Diatomaceous Earth (DE). This fine powder has
microscopic barbs that get into the breathing
apparatus of flies. It can also kill internal parasites if
eaten. Our buffalo, like this big bull, like to wallow in
it. However, the females and young ones tend not to
wallow as much as bulls. But because they are a
family and like to stay near each other, they can still
benefit from the cloud of DE dust these bulls create.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 7
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Another advantage to herd animals with family social order preferring to stay together is that they move and graze together. This lawn mower path creates an edge effect between tall and short grass. Any edge effects result in increased diversity. More insects, more birds, and more mammals can use the area. Also the disturbance that moving bison create is concentrated. So insects, birds, and mammals, instead of small eddies of disturbance, now have a flood to contend with the aftermath of the whole herd. This makes them vulnerable, which in turn means a good chance at a meal for a predator. So now raptors, swallows, and small carnivores are willing to follow the herd, giving them a shot at a food source not normally worth going after.
We have seen this in Yellowstone with coyotes
following elk and bison herds, as well as at our Iowa
farm. Historical accounts tell of 10,000 wolves
following the huge herds of buffalo on the Plains.
Most of these wolves were not all after bison
themselves rather the mice they disturbed.
One will only get this in herds with family social
order. Whether it is in Yellowstone…
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 8
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
or our herd in Iowa.
Herd animals with family social order can utilize more
plants than dysfunctional animals. Omnivores, such
as humans and bears, can eat flesh instinctively but
need training to eat vegetation. Herbivores, such as
bison and cattle can eat grass with no training, but
need instruction to select herbs. Thus, any herd
animals that are weaned or are part of herds without
social structure should more aptly be called
“Grassivores”.
Not only do they learn from each other what to eat
and when, they also are more able to experiment and
try new foods. They can use the family’s existing
knowledge and apply it to new foods that become
available to them. Would you want to be at a buffet
table with infinite choices, but only know how eat the
bread and water?
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 9
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
During the fall, it is hard to find locust pods because
our buffalo have learned to eat them, as can be seen
by the seeds in their cow pies. This can be a
valuable source of protein and fat in the fall when it is
needed. Some seeds even require passing through a
digestive system to become viable.
So even if native prairies were restored, a functional
herd is necessary to know how to use it. A
dysfunctional herd would only pick out the grass,
what they instinctively know to eat, and leave the
rest. Ultimately this animal has inadequate uptake of
nutrients. This translates into the nutrition from
mineral rich herbs not being available to us when we
eat these animals.
It should make no difference whether it is
Yellowstone’s “wild” herds or private producers
“domesticated” herds. Both can graze with the same
efficiency as long as we allow them to develop the
same herd structure as their ancestors.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 10
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
With bison having extended families as the
cornerstone of their species success, to suddenly
take this away in the last 150 years means that most
of today’s public and private herds are composed of
dysfunctional individuals. Chronic stress is inherent
in all of these animals. Indigenous peoples’
preference for front quarters from nutritionally dense
mature animals is no longer an option with the tight
muscles (tough meat) associated with chronically
stressed animals.
While people know varied diet grazing means more
nutrition, it is not the only factor. We at Tall Grass
Bison also specifically choose mature animals for our
active customers. We are able to do so because our
family social order herd does not have the stress
common in other herds.
The USDA has it backwards. Why would we place
flavor so low on our scale of what is important,
especially when we realize flavor equals nutrition?
Perhaps the bias towards tenderness was created
because that was the only characteristic available
once the commercial ag industry dumbed down our
food to the point where it is tasteless.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 11
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
However, we do not mean to imply one segment of a
herd is better than another. All age groups have
equal importance and uses. We market primarily to
prime aged active adults that need the energy and
power of aged meat from mature animals. However,
for the young and old, palatability may be more
critical than nutrition. Therefore, they prefer a
younger animal with more digestible tender meat.
The beauty of it is each segment of a functional
family group provides for each segment of the human
population.
Along with what the bison can do for the land and for
us, we feel we can give back to the land by being
good stewards. We are restoring the productivity and
fertility of the land lost through previous farming
practices. This includes adding a lot of organic
matter, in the form of hay, from other lands. One
could argue that we are mining our neighbor’s fields
to improve ours.
Each winter we unroll 700 – 800 big bales of hay.
Whenever possible, we look for prairie hay to feed
our buffalo. The deep roots of native prairie bring up
a lot of minerals. After adding organic material for 20
years on some of the pastures, our fields are the first
to green and the last to dry up each summer.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 12
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
This is one of our pastures after the Spring thaw. The
buffalo have done their part in “processing” the hay
into fertilizer, waiting to go back into the soil.
The closer pond seen in this photo is a settling pond,
high above the main pond. This ensures clean water
before going into the larger water shed below.
Harrowing helps the process of returning the
nutrients to the soil and allows the sun to reach the
tender new grass formerly covered by cow pies.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 13
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Bison keep nutrients on the land. They prefer resting
on hilltops, unlike cattle that stay lower in drainages
seeking shade. This means what the bison have
eaten lower down is deposited up above where it
does not wash away. If you will notice, there are
three forms of fertilizer in this picture. We have
already talked about two, bison and hay. The geese
too are part of the picture.
These geese come to our place to rest after an early
breakfast of corn in our neighbor’s fields. So just as
the bison process hay, the geese give us the
products of their meals of corn. We’ll take whatever
we can get.
They are of course attracted to the 35 farm ponds we
have. We keep our creeks running clear.
Unlike what we see in ponds across the country.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 14
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
While our buffalo still go into the water, you do not
see the riparian damage so common in dysfunctional
herds.
Note the path on top of the dam with grass on either
side of it. If cattle or dysfunctional bison were using
this pasture, stress and pecking order would mean
degradation of the bank.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 15
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
But we still have problems from farming practices by
previous owners. Our impoundments stop head cuts
such as this one.
It may not be “natural”, but these dams allow for plant
restoration below that duplicate non-gullying swales.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 16
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
We provide alternative water sources for wintertime
needs.
Clean water and healthy riparian area attract those
birds that thrive on it. Add to that the grassland birds
coexisting with the buffalo. Biodiversity begets more
biodiversity.
Some regular visitors to the farm.
Benefits of Biodiversity Ecological - e.g insect pollination.
Resistance to catastrophe
Food and drink Intellectual value
Leisure, cultural and aesthetic value
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 17
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Reasons We Burn Just as with natural and human-ignited fires in the
past, prescribed burning today accomplishes many
important ecological functions and landowner
objectives.
Increase Vegetative Diversity
Improve Wildlife and Grazing
Control Pest Problems
Being a working farm we also need to fence. So
rather than use toxic treated posts or steel posts, we
look to more sustainable options. We prefer Osage
Orange hedge posts that grow naturally on our farm
and can last 70-100 years in the ground.
We enjoy the fruits of our labors and feel good about
the land.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 18
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
We enjoy sharing the farm with those that visit, such
as our customers …
Students from the Community colleges and State
Universities
Conservation groups such as the Iowa Naturalist
Society.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 19
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
And media that want to document the innovative
methods we use and implement.
An interesting side note with the lower photo. While
the herd does not normally react to groups coming
out into the herd, the posture of the filmmaker was
unusual. The bull group seen in front of the
cameraman split off from the herd and came over to
check him out. They were filling their role of herd
protectors.
Indigenous peoples raised animals not for food
efficiency but rather to tide them over in times of
scarcity. Somehow “civilized” people became far
enough removed from nature they no longer could
compare natural and domestic food systems. And
without understanding herd social order, they had no
way to either duplicate “wild” herd efficiency or
incorporate this management philosophy into their
”domestic” herds.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 20
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Symptom management at its zenith.
If every herd animal species developed with social
order and depended on this for its very survival as a
species, then it means all herd animals lacking this
order has stress inherent within this animal.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 21
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
None of our bison have ever been given a shot, nor
needed it. The only handling comes when we load
out satellite herds for sale. All butcher animals are
field slaughtered. Our bulls are selected by
matriarchal families so there is no expense of
trailering in outside breeding animals.
Our decision to no longer grain feed animals came
not so much from healthy meat concerns but more
from the fact that the grain we fed meant breakdown
of social structure.
“Dunbar stated that in the Indian country it was not
considered right to make free gifts to common
Indians, which encouraged begging and angered the
chiefs, whose authority rested mainly on their people
looking to them for occasional distributions of gifts.”
John Dunbar, Indian Agent 1844
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 22
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Social herds mean fertile lands because the animals
of these herds recycle the nutrients of a lot more
species of plants. They also eat coarser vegetation
and browse which recycles the nutrients of these
plants faster. Because our herds move en mass to
high ground for rest, a higher percentage of nutrients
are “deposited” on the tops of hills.
Field slaughter means a shot behind the ear
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 23
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Difference is similar to soldiers being shot while at
war and the survivors, still believing they have ways
to react. Compare this to a concentration camp
where death is constant and everyone knows there is
no hope of escape.
Herds behind fences have to be handled differently
than animals in the wild.
The herd will push non-accepted animals to the
perimeter. Also scout bulls go to far ends of pastures.
An animal moving from a herd means the herd
accepts that animal being gone. They will not panic.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 24
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
We always have three pickups and a loader tractor
ready.
If we shoot an animal that is in sight of the herd, we
position a pickup between the animal and herd. After
shooting, two trucks align themselves at an angle to
each other so that the loader tractor comes into the
opening to load it into the bed of one of the pickups.
Lime is spread on any blood. Once out of the field,
the animal is again hoisted and bled.
On our farm, many people have offered to pay for
just shooting a buffalo. Most want to see if their
muzzle loader, pistol or bow will do the job. When I
explain what it means to kill an animal, enthusiasm
wanes. I have yet to have any of these guys hang
around for a course in respect for what they propose
to kill
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 25
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
The story told to us was that the bull on the left was
killed in a subsequent “hunt”. The main herd bull, the
one on the right, soon after broke out of the pasture
and took three younger bulls to safety. They made it
12 miles. When the ranch manager tried to herd
them back, the big bull would not allow the younger
bulls to return. They ended up shooting their head
bull. For this bull to leave the main herd unprotected
meant he was desperate to keep the younger males
alive.
Bull groups isolate themselves from the hectic day care center activities of the matriarchal components. Thus, they move easily to different pastures well away from the main herd. We put these groups in holding pastures, then shoot them one at a time. All we have to do is use curiosity to separate one out from the others. We open a gate they have never been through. First one through wins the prize so to speak. Sounds kind of morbid but that’s how it works.
Indians Native American hunts focused on satellite groups. They killed the group as a whole, with surrounds, impoundments, and buffalo jumps. The varied ages of these satellite groups best met the nutritional needs of the tribe.
Construction of corrals is a major expense with bison
herds. If one understands bison’s need for individual
space, ranchers can construct something that is a lot
more humane and less stressful for these animals.
The cost of injuries, death or stress related weight
loss is minimized.
Sadly, very few facilities are designed with the same
logic to get people to move, under their control, to
where we want them.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 26
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Recipe for disaster. This corral is no different that
any public bison corral that I have seen. Bison are
forced ahead, which goes against their very nature.
Would we want to be pushed into an obvious dead
end alley?
The coming video shows a bunch of govt. morons
that say and listen to the correct “words” but carry out
a plan of action entirely different. As the video
progresses take a look at all those hot shot
wands…and one guy poking the front of an animal
with a sand wand while another person shocks the
rear end of the same animal. Of course, the design of
all government corrals necessitates the kind of shock
and awe treatment seen in this video.
This assortment of folks represents Montana Fish,
Wildlife & Parks, DOL, APHIS and the Yellowstone
“seasoned” bison corralling team. The one that says
we will be taking it slow is the head of Yellowstone’s
team.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 27
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
No working corral should have more than five
animals in it at one time. Yellowstone tried to save
money by combining the sorting and working area.
There are no holding pens away from the “action” to
place the stressed animals seen in the pictures.
The abuse doesn’t stop with injuries and death inside
the walls of this corral. Bulls outside the corral end up
getting shot (not shown) because they chase the
guys on horses. The bulls stay around trying to
protect the matriarchal components and get
cantankerous when the guys try to chase them away.
The corral workers do not understand why the bulls
hang around. They just think the bulls are mean.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 28
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Notice the concerted effort of this bison family to stay
away from the sides of the bridge.
To duplicate the behaviors needs seen in
Yellowstone’s bison we give our animals 24 foot wide
alleys, 80 foot turn-arounds at each end and a 40
foot tub. In two days, we loaded 10 trailers with 100
animals in 2 ½ hours. No more than three to five
bison were moved from the sorting areas and
through the working corrals at any time. None had
previously been worked in corrals. There were no
injuries, such as gorings, peeled off hides, or broken
horns.
Not well shown but there are circle turn arounds at
each end of the working facilities. These turn
arounds are the key to TGB’s corrals. That and
psychological avenues of escape for the bison.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 29
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Note the turn arounds at each end. Thus one can
bring animals in from either end and the buffalo then
can work their way back through the facility on their
own accord. They feel they are in control and make
the choices we want them to.
The shorter the confining tunnel, the less anxiety the
corralled animals will have. There always has to be
an “out” (cavern) built in for them for a corral to be
successful. Think of the movies where the chased
person runs down an alley only to find a wall at the
other end. He runs back looking for an unlocked
door. Then there appears an open doorway. Relief is
in the mind of the fleeing person, the same as in the
mind of a buffalo. The only thing is our corral has a
trap (40’ diameter tub) past this door.
Why not make this 24 feet wide? There would be a
lot more flexibility of use. And when used as an
alleyway, bison would still use only the middle three
feet. Like the bridge sequence in Yellowstone,
however, bison feel they have the space to allow the
freedom of travel. No herd would freely go through a
4 foot wide alley. Why do we want to employ more
people to force animals ahead when the bison can
move on their own accord?
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 30
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
It is just a bunch of bigger and smaller boxes and
circles placed in such a way as to give an animal
decision making control over his or her life.
One can take animals either way with these 19 foot
gates. And the double sliding doors at either end
allow for the flexibility of holding animals in one side
while moving animals through the other. The two
load out doors and two load out chutes beyond (with
gates between the alleyways) means any animal that
goes down or is turned the wrong way can be let into
the other alleyway and then put back through the
system…all without stopping load out of other
animals.
By the time the animals get to the squeeze, they
think the working chute area is just another door to
another cavern.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 31
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
To understand bison we need to understand the
emotions and fears of humans. For bison, wanting to
go back to safety is no different than humans wanting
to retreat to familiar surroundings. Notice no scrape
marks on the walls or gates. This is because they
never stray from the middle three feet of “alleyway”.
The guy on the far end opens the turn around tub
gate and the animals run to the gate they just came
through. They then see the opening to the tub (two 6-
foot wide doors) and jog on in. They never look up to
see a human until in the tub. If we work them from
the opposite end, the small gate (seen closed next to
the large gate) is opened. The gate’s mate is open
on the other side and the two guys are ready to close
the 2 sliding doors to the tub after the animals pass
through the short swing gate.
This is part of Yellowstone’s $300,000 pride and
glory. The acute corner seen here has killed and
maimed many buffalo. Yellowstone uses this pen,
seen in the foreground, as a holding area.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 32
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
TGB’s lead in from the sorting pens (not shown) are
32’ wide. Each holding pen has a pond in it. Thus the
big bulls, after being worked in warm weather, run to
these ponds and put their rear ends in. It cools them
down and keeps them from going sterile. I have seen
six bulls at one time in the ponds, all facing out like
the spokes of a wheel, with water up to their tails on
their backside and their front legs on the shore.
We sort out the family groups for sale in these
holding pens. We put hay in each and over two days
we periodically open and close gates to the four
pens. Members of one family stuck on the wrong side
go one way while members of another family waiting
on the other side of the gate cross on the way to their
family.
Compare this to Yellowstone’s vet work (see video
below)
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 33
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
This video is of Yellowstone’s squeeze chute
activities. Note:
• Too confining an area vet has to work in
• Blood draw from neck instead of tail
• Nose tongs secured above instead of to side
(causes rear end to drop)
• Lack of squeezing in on animal’s sides
• Vet reach inside the squeeze is very dangerous as
shown
And not one cow pattie dropped (stress related)
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 34
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
If they were dressed in suits, would we still be taking
their picture? Whether it is humans or animals, our
prejudices keep us from understanding our fears,
personal space, and survival instincts are the same.
The lower herd may have beautiful surroundings but
it is a herd only skin deep. The one in the top photo
is multigenerational and full of vitality. Why have a
shell of a herd when they can offer us so much
more? A functional herd has everything that it needs
to take care of itself. If we let them, they can even
offer us something in return. A view into a life style
that we have lost in our drive to become “civilized”.
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 35
Sitting Bull College, Bison/Tatanka Care and Culture Workshop printed Mobridge, SD, 2/21/08 2/19/2008
Bob Jackson, Tall Grass Bison 36