Occurred on June 5, 2019 / Byers, Colorado, USA
Info from Licensor: "This is Billy the Buffalo, 'Billy' for short. We (our family) has had him since he was one day old. He is the only buffalo we have, so we did bottle feed him when he was a calf, and also started using a halter to lead him. That grew our relationship with him and essentially domesticated him. When he was about 2 years old, my husband started riding him, kind of like a horse. We have put a saddle on him, but now he is just too big around for it. So, we ride him bareback. We have had other people ride him, even people Billy is not familiar with. He does very well. But, we do still respect him and his territory.
People always ask how we keep a buffalo tamed like this. Well, since buffalo are known for their strength, power, and how they like to 'bulldoze', we give Billy lots of open space and we keep him occupied. He has his own 'toys' he likes to play within his pasture. A prime example is the tractor tire in the video, among other things. We also interact with him on a daily basis. He loves to be groomed!
Billy is now 5 years old and a big part of our family. Buffaloes live to be about 50, so he will be with us for a long time. Long enough for my kids and grandkids to adopt him."
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