Yoda-lay-hee-huh?!So, I'm in Basel this weekend, visiting my friends Mr. and Mrs. Swizzies. On the road to Basel, we passed a pasture or two or ten. (This is Switzerland, you know. You can't help but pass a bucolic pasture or two or ten when you're on the road. Anyway...) At one point, I glance over to the right and there are buffalo.
Let me repeat that. Buffalo.
Buffalo in Switzerland.
I drove across the great American plains in March--through South Dakota and Wyoming, to be precise--and I did not see a single buffalo on the entire trip.
I travel over 5,000 from Seattle to Geneva and I see buffalo.
Go figure.
P.S. I would have taken a picture, but I was busy driving 120 kph on the autobahn. Doing a drive-by shooting seemed like a bad idea. Photo copyright: First People.
9 comments:
Except you saw them in Texas (I think it was) too! I wouldn't have expected them in Switzerland though. Did they have bells on? ;-)
I would rather see mr. and mrs. swizzie than buffalo :)
-Phoebe
Hi mr and mrs swizzie! (waving hand)
I guess the Europeans are smart and have figured out that American bison = tasty treat. :)
I had buffalo poke their heads into my tent when I went to Girl Scout Camp on Catalina Island off the California coast.
They are found in the strangest places.
Maya: This is true, but Texas isn't part of the Great Plains, per se. (Or is it? Hm. I'll have to look into that.) Seeing them there was as unexpected as seeing them in Switzerland. Buffalo belong in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska, IMHO. As to whether the Schweizerbuffalo had bells, I don't know. They were sort too far to hear going 120 kph.
Phoebe: I agree!
JA: Actually, according to Dr Lala, they aren't raised for the meat as much as they are for the milk, I guess. Think buffalo mozzarella, which is made from buffalo milk...
Rebecca: Wild! Of course, I'm told that near San Simeon you'll occasionally see a zebra. Odd.
Bzzt! Surprisingly, Dr. Lala is wrong! Buffalo mozzarella is made from water buffalo milk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_mozzarella
American Bison are not really buffalo. And there is a European version, the wisent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison
Since you didn't post a picture of the bison you actually saw, we can't tell whether it was ex-pat or European.
And wisent was one of the final words in the National Spelling Bee!
Bells on? ha ha. too funny.
I have learned so much in this blog. Zebra in California, Buffalo on Catalina, and Euro-buffalo.
No deer or antelope, right? Because that would be weird! ;-)
Happy Trails to you!
Ya, I'm still scratching my head over that one!
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