Friends of the South Park Buffalo Preserve

If you joined us for Friday’s public feeding, you may have noticed something a little different. 🧐

We were missing the buffalo.
❤️🦬@

While dozens of visitors gathered along the fence hoping to see the buffalo family come down and join us, the herd remained together at the top of the hill, watching from a distance. They stood there quietly, observing everything below, but showing little interest in making their usual trip down to visit everyone.

Eventually, near the end of the feeding, we were able to get them down for some water and a brief visit. But after only a short time, they turned around and headed right back up the hillside.

For many visitors, this may have seemed unusual.

For those of us who know this buffalo family well, we understood exactly what we were seeing.

As I explained to many visitors that morning, their behavior suggested a significant stress event had recently occurred. At the time, we had not been informed of a veterinary visit the previous day, but when the buffalo family finally came down, we quickly found our answer.

The red paint marks visible on most of their horns told the story.

Those marks are often left behind after a trip through the squeeze pen, where buffalo bump or rub against the interior walls while being restrained for veterinary procedures.

Now we knew. We also noticed that one of the two sides of the double gates between their field and the feeding area was still closed. It was apparent that they lured the buffalo down to the feeding area and then closed the gates behind them for treatment. So to get them down to the feeding area the next morning was a big ask - even for us. It took quite a bit of telling them it was OK as Rosie and Daisy stood at the Buffalo brush licking their lips. When we got them moving - the entire family followed down in an organized line. Once you get their attention - talking to them is a powerful thing.

So again, now we knew the buffalo family had undergone veterinary treatment the day before.

While these procedures are important for their health and well-being, they can also be one of the most stressful experiences these buffalo will encounter.

Unlike domestic cattle, buffalo still retain many of the instincts that helped their wild ancestors survive for thousands of years. When they are restrained and unable to move freely—even for necessary medical care—they experience it as a significant event.

And buffalo have remarkably long memories.

The older members of our herd—Daisy, Rosie, and Violet—especially seem to remember these experiences.

These buffalo girls have spent years raising calves, protecting their families, and leading the herd. Their strong maternal instincts, experience, and natural caution often make them the last to fully relax after stressful handling events.

Ironically, it’s usually the younger buffalo who forgive people first.

The younger members of the herd often return to normal routines much more quickly, while the older buffalo take a little more time to decide that everything is safe again. Until then, they prefer to keep the family together, maintain a comfortable distance, and observe the world from a place where they feel secure.

What many people don’t realize is that buffalo don’t necessarily separate the stressful experience from the people involved.

In their minds, trusted humans called them over, led them into a familiar area, and suddenly they found themselves restrained. It can take a few days for that confidence to rebuild, even with people they know and trust.

The good news is that it always does.

Every year we watch them work through that process. A few days pass, routines return, trust is rebuilt, and before long Rosie is back inspecting every bag of food being poured into the feeders, and Daisy is supervising the entire operation, keeping an eye on everyone, and the younger buffalo are once again racing down the hill wondering if breakfast has arrived.

As advocates for this buffalo family, our goal has always been to balance necessary veterinary care with minimizing stress whenever possible.

That is one of the reasons we strongly recommended this new veterinarian after speaking with other buffalo facilities that have benefited from his expertise and low-stress handling philosophy. We are hopeful that future vaccinations and treatments can increasingly be administered through his specialized long-range dart or air-rifle systems when appropriate.

These methods can often eliminate the need to gather and restrain the entire herd, significantly reducing stress for both the adult buffalo and the calves that depend on them.

At the end of the day, every decision is made with the health, safety, and welfare of this buffalo family in mind.

So if you visited Friday and found the herd standing quietly on the hillside, you weren’t seeing stubborn buffalo.

You were witnessing something much deeper.

You were watching a family of intelligent animals process an experience, lean on one another for comfort, and rely on the wisdom of mothers and grandmothers like Daisy, Rosie, and Violet to determine when it was safe to come back down.

And if history has taught us anything, it is this:

The trust always returns.

The routines return.

The family returns.

And before long, they’ll once again come thundering down that hill together—ready for breakfast, ready to greet their visitors, and ready to remind us why so many people have fallen in love with this remarkable buffalo family.

Check the pictures, read the faces, look into those eyes - boy did they tell a story on this day. They wanted me to know they had a scary experience, they want to be comfortable and get things back to normal.

The good news for us, for those with mobility challenges, for Big Head, and for the Buffalo family -

THE BUFFALO WILL BE MOVING BACK TO THEIR SESQUI FIELD EARLY NEXT WEEK!! Yea!! 🦬❤️🎉

Ron, the Parks Department Regional Superintendent told me he would personally be there to do the final work in Sesqui and then move them over to enjoy the new tall grass there! The Buffalo will love it! Thanks Ron!
🦬❤️Ron! I plan on following up with Ron to schedule the Tuesday/Friday Feedings up top near at the upper Sesqui Drive so everyone can get the best views of the Buffalo! Stay tuned!

Thanks everyone! 💙🦬❤️

How Do Our South Park Buffalo Handle this Heat? ☀️

One question we hear quite often this time of year is:

“Once the buffalo shed those thick winter coats, how do they handle the summer heat and humidity?”

It’s a great question because the answer reveals just how remarkable these animals truly are. ❤️🦬

Many people assume buffalo struggle most during the winter. After all, they’re standing outside through snowstorms, ice, freezing rain, and bitter winds while most of us are bundled up indoors. The truth is that American bison were built for winter. In many ways, a hot, humid Pennsylvania summer can be more challenging for a buffalo than a cold January day.

Fortunately, Mother Nature has equipped them with several tools to help them adapt.

The Summer Coat

The shedding process isn’t just about looking less shaggy.

Throughout the winter, buffalo wear an incredibly dense coat made up of long guard hairs and a thick woolly undercoat that helps them survive some of the harshest weather imaginable. As spring turns to summer, that heavy insulation is no longer needed.

By shedding the woolly undercoat, buffalo dramatically reduce the amount of heat trapped against their bodies. While they still retain the familiar shaggy hair around their heads, shoulders, and front legs, the overall coat becomes much lighter and better suited for warm weather.

Every clump of fur hanging from the fence, caught on a tree, or drifting across the preserve represents insulation they no longer need.

Respiratory Cooling

Like cattle, buffalo also release a significant amount of body heat through respiration.

On warmer days you may notice them breathing more heavily or more frequently. This is one of the ways they naturally move excess heat out of their bodies and help regulate their temperature.

Seeking Shade

Although buffalo are often associated with the wide-open prairie, they are far from foolish.

When temperatures climb, they happily take advantage of available shade. Trees and shaded areas become valuable places to spend part of the day, especially during the hottest afternoon hours. This is a critical reason why it’s important that the Buffalo get moved to their Sesqui Field that filled with mature trees. We did get 15 trees planted in the Corrigan Field a couple of years ago, but they are still years away from being capable of any type of shade.

The buffalo are masters at adapting to their environment, but they need access to shade to cool down.

The Importance of Wallowing

Those wallows scattered throughout the preserve serve more than one purpose.

When buffalo roll in the dirt, they’re not simply having fun—although it certainly looks like they are.

The dust helps condition their skin, discourages biting insects, loosens shedding fur, and can even provide a cooling effect, especially when the soil contains moisture. Wallowing is one of the most iconic buffalo behaviors and remains just as important today as it was thousands of years ago on the Great Plains.

Changing Their Daily Routine

Buffalo are also smart enough to adjust their schedules.

During the hottest stretches of summer, they often become more active during the cooler morning and evening hours. Midday is frequently reserved for resting, standing quietly, seeking shade, chewing cud, and conserving energy until temperatures begin to fall.

If you’ve spent enough time watching our buffalo family, you’ve probably noticed this seasonal shift yourself.

Water Matters Too

Buffalo don’t spend their days standing in ponds like some livestock species, but access to fresh drinking water becomes increasingly important during hot weather.

Staying hydrated helps them regulate body temperature and remain healthy throughout the summer months.

The Advantage of Size

Their massive size also helps more than many people realize.

Large animals gain and lose heat more slowly than smaller animals. While buffalo still feel the effects of hot weather, their size helps buffer them from rapid temperature swings and gives them another advantage in dealing with changing conditions.

What You Might Notice in Our Herd

If you watch Daisy, Rosie, Violet, Big Head, Denali, Jacobi, Alice, Diane, Elu, and the rest of the buffalo family during a July or August heat wave, you’ll likely notice some predictable changes.

More time standing.

More time in the shade.

More visits to the wallows.

More trips to water.

Less activity during the hottest part of the day.

And perhaps a little heavier breathing as they work to stay comfortable.

What fascinates me most is the irony of it all.

Visitors often worry about the buffalo on a snowy January morning when frost covers their backs and snow piles up on their coats. In reality, those are the conditions they were born to handle. A humid 90-degree summer afternoon can be far more challenging than a winter day that leaves us shivering.

That’s exactly why this annual shedding process is so important.

Every rub against a tree.

Every pass through the buffalo brush.

Every scratch on the fence.

Every dust-filled wallow.

They’re all part of a process that has helped generations of buffalo prepare for summer for thousands of years.

And judging by the amount of fur our buffalo family is leaving behind these days, they’re doing everything possible to make sure summer finds them ready.

Now just to get them back over to their Sesqui Field!

💙🦬❤️

Friends of the South Park Buffalo

Why Are the Baby Buffalo Changing Color? ❤️🦬

One of the questions we hear every year is, “Why are the baby buffalo changing color already?”

If you’ve been following our newest calves, you may have noticed something interesting. While little Jacobi, at about four weeks old, is still wearing that bright orange-red “red dog” coat that makes baby buffalo so easy to spot, Denali, now around ten weeks old, is beginning to show patches of darker brown fur along her back and in several areas of her body.

If you look closely at today’s photos, you can see the change beginning along the ridge of Denali’s back where darker brown fur is starting to emerge through her red calf coat. It’s one of the first visible signs that a young buffalo is growing up.

This is completely natural and is part of an important stage in a buffalo calf’s development.

When bison calves are born, they wear a reddish-orange coat that serves several purposes. The lighter color helps mothers and herd members quickly identify the youngest members of the family. That soft calf coat is also perfectly suited for the warmer temperatures of spring and early summer when most calves are born.

But that bright “red dog” phase doesn’t last forever.

As calves grow through their first summer, they gradually begin replacing that reddish coat with the darker brown coloration most people associate with adult buffalo. The change doesn’t happen all at once. Instead, it often begins exactly where we’re seeing it now—along the back, shoulders, and upper body. Small patches and streaks of darker fur begin appearing before eventually spreading across the entire animal.

For a period of time, calves can look almost patchwork in appearance, wearing both their baby coat and their future adult coat at the same time.

What makes this year’s herd especially fun to watch is that we currently have two calves at very different stages of development. Standing side by side, Denali and Jacobi provide a living timeline of buffalo growth. One is still proudly wearing that brilliant red baby coat, while the other is already beginning the transition toward the rich brown colors she will carry into adulthood.

And these two calves have added another special chapter to the South Park buffalo family story.

Denali’s arrival made Rosie a mother for the fourth time. Many of you already know Rosie’s daughter Alice, and sons, Diane, and Elu. With the birth of Denali, Rosie continues to grow an incredible family legacy within the herd.

Denali’s birth also brought Rosie a brand-new title—Grandma Buffalo.

When Alice welcomed her first calf, Jacobi, Rosie officially became both a mother and grandmother in the same season. Watching these generations together has been one of the most rewarding parts of following this herd.

Ten weeks ago, Denali was a wobbly newborn staying close to Supermom Rosie’s side. Today she is bigger, stronger, more independent, and already beginning to lose some of the colors that marked her earliest days.

Meanwhile, little Jacobi is still enjoying those early weeks of life under the watchful eye of first-time mom Alice, proudly wearing the same bright red coat that Denali wore not long ago.

Nature doesn’t stand still for long, and neither do buffalo calves.

Looking at these two youngsters today is like looking at two chapters of the same story—one just beginning and one already turning the page to the next stage of life.

Enjoy the 🦬 pictures and this amazing ☀️ weather!

💙🦬❤️

🎈🎉 The buffalo may not know realize that we celebrate birthdays too, but if they did, I have a feeling there would be a long line of buffalo waiting at the fence today to wish a very special person a Happy Birthday.

This is a very special day because we get to celebrate someone whose fingerprints are on virtually every good thing that has happened for this buffalo family over the last several years.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife, Diane — the co-founder of the Friends of the South Park Buffalo Preserve, the inspiration behind our beloved buffalo Diane, and the person whose heart and compassion helped turn a simple love for these animals into something far bigger than either of us ever imagined.

Many people see the public feedings, the educational posts that I love to write, the photographs, the stories, and the growing community that has formed around this remarkable buffalo family. What many don’t see are the countless hours behind the scenes. The planning, the organizing, the worrying, the caring, and the unwavering commitment to doing whatever we can to help make life better for these magnificent animals.

From the very beginning, Diane has been the steady hand, the compassionate voice, and the person who never stops thinking about what is best for the buffalo. She celebrates every victory, worries through every challenge, and loves each member of this herd as if they were part of our own family.

If you’ve ever met Diane, you know her kindness isn’t limited to buffalo. Many of you may remember her rescuing a newborn fawn, but that’s simply who she is. Whether it’s a buffalo, a deer, a bird, a stray animal, or a person in need, Diane’s first instinct is always to help. Her heart has no boundaries.

Over the years we’ve watched friendships form, traditions begin, babies grow up, and tens of thousands of people discover a deeper appreciation for these incredible animals. Through it all, Diane has been there every step of the way, helping build something that has touched far more lives than we ever could have imagined.

It’s only fitting that one of the sweetest members of the herd carries Diane’s name. Our buffalo Diane shares many of the same qualities as her namesake — gentle, caring, beautiful, and loved by everyone fortunate enough to know her.

So today, as we celebrate another birthday, I simply want to say thank you. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your compassion. Thank you for your friendship, your partnership, and your love. Most of all, thank you for sharing your heart with this buffalo family and with all of us who have been lucky enough to be part of this journey.

And if the buffalo could talk, I have no doubt they would all want to join in wishing their biggest champion a very Happy Birthday.

Big Head would probably be standing front and center making sure he got the first birthday wish. Daisy would be right beside him. Rosie, Violet, Lily, Crimson, Clover, Alice, Diane, Takoda, Elu, Kai, and now Denali and Jacobi would all be gathered nearby, sending their love to the woman who has loved them so faithfully through the years.

Happy Birthday, Diane. Thank you for everything you do for the buffalo family, for our friends and followers, and for our family!

We love you. ❤️🎂🦬💙🎉🎈

If you’ve been watching the buffalo family lately, you’ve probably noticed they’re looking a little rough around the edges. Fur hanging in patches. Shaggy clumps caught on the fence. Hair blowing across the preserve. In fact, there’s probably enough buffalo fur floating around South Park right now to knit sweaters for half the county.

But what you’re witnessing is one of nature’s great annual transformations.

For months, this buffalo family carried around thick winter coats designed to withstand snow, ice, bitter winds, and temperatures that would send most of us running indoors. Unlike cattle, American bison grow an incredibly dense winter coat made up of long guard hairs and a thick woolly undercoat that allows them to thrive during some of the harshest weather Mother Nature can deliver.

But now the seasons are changing.

The days are longer. The sunshine is warmer. The grass is greener. And nature is telling this buffalo family it’s finally time to take off those winter jackets.

As temperatures rise, hormones trigger the shedding process and that thick coat begins loosening from the skin. It often starts around the shoulders, sides, and hindquarters before spreading across the body. For a few weeks, buffalo can look downright ragged. Large sheets of fur hang from their bodies. Clumps stick out in every direction. To the untrained eye, they can look scruffy and unkempt.

The reality is exactly the opposite.

A buffalo shedding its winter coat is usually a healthy buffalo.

And our herd isn’t content to sit back and let nature do all the work.

They become active participants in the process.

The buffalo brush gets a daily workout. Trees become giant scratching posts. The cyclone fence transforms into a full-service shedding station. And the wallowing holes become dusty spas where they roll, twist, kick, and grind loose fur free while covering themselves in dirt that will later help keep biting insects at bay.

Watching them work at it can be downright entertaining.

One minute you’ll see a buffalo leaning into the brush with eyes half closed in pure satisfaction. The next you’ll see one rubbing against a tree with enough force to make you wonder if the tree is going to survive the encounter. Then comes the wallowing—dust flying, legs kicking, loose fur drifting through the air like tumbleweeds across the prairie.

Some of the fur comes off in handfuls. Some hangs in long shaggy strips for days. Some ends up decorating the fence line. And before long, a sleek summer coat begins to emerge from underneath.

What I love most about this time of year is that it serves as a reminder that despite the fences, the visitors, the cameras, and all of us standing nearby watching, these animals are still following the same rhythms their ancestors followed thousands of years ago across the Great Plains.

Every scratch against a tree.

Every pass through the buffalo brush.

Every rub along the fence.

Every dust-filled wallow.

It’s all part of a timeless process that has played out for generations upon generations of bison long before any of us were here to witness it.

And judging by the amount of fur this buffalo family is leaving behind these days, they are doing everything possible to hurry summer along.

Just amazing, standing right there watching Big Head, Daisy, Rosie, Violet, Lily, Clover, Crimson, Alice, Diane, Takoda, Elu, and Kai enthusiastically trying to shed every last bit of winter. Thank goodness the munchkins Denali and Jacobi won’t have to worry about this annual ritual until next year!

Speaking of watching this annual transformation unfold, we had another absolutely incredible “Chamber of Commerce” perfect morning at yesterday’s public feeding. Beautiful sunshine, comfortable temperatures, a hungry buffalo family, and a huge crowd of happy, enthusiastic “Friends of the Buffalo” gathered to enjoy it all.

We welcomed visitors from across Pennsylvania, a number of our friends from West Virginia, and our long-distance follower of the day—a sweet young girl who traveled all the way from Houston, Texas with her family. She follows our page and came prepared with some wonderful questions about the buffalo family. One of my favorite moments of the morning was standing with her as we went through her brand-new Buffalo Picture ID Card, pointing to each buffalo one by one while the real buffalo stood just a few feet away enjoying their breakfast. Watching her connect the names and faces on the card to the magnificent animals standing right in front of her was something special. The smile on her face is exactly why we love what we do.

And as if that wasn’t amazing enough, she was in town celebrating the birthday of her cousin—whose name happens to be Denali! You simply can’t make this stuff up. It’s just another one of those magical South Park buffalo moments that seem to happen when people come together to share their love of this incredible buffalo family.

Enjoy the buffalo shedding photos. They capture another chapter in the story of this remarkable herd as they trade their winter coats for summer and continue following the same timeless rhythms their ancestors have followed for thousands of years.

Thank you for joining us on this journey and for being part of the growing family of Friends of the South Park Buffalo.

💙🦬❤️

❤️🦬 Not to sound like a broken record, but if you were part of the huge crowd that joined us on Friday, you already know it was another absolutely awesome public feeding. Beautiful sunshine, warm temperatures, and one of those perfect mornings that makes you understand exactly why this buffalo family is working so hard to accelerate the shedding of those heavy winter coats.

Nature, of course, likes to take its own sweet time. Apparently buffalo like Daisy, Rosie, and Violet don’t have the patience to wait for nature to take its course. That’s what giant buffalo brushes, tall fences, and wallowing holes are for. And IF they had a few mature trees in their Corrigan Field, those trees would be getting quite the workout right now too!

Thankfully for Buffalo babies Denali and Jacobi, those beautiful red dog coats don’t need to come off. Instead, they’ll gradually transition into that classic buffalo brown that they’ll proudly wear throughout the summer months. In fact, if you look closely at the photos, you’ll probably be just as surprised as I was to see that 9-week-old Denali is already showing signs of that transformation. These kids grow up way too fast. Blink, and you’ll miss it.

We had so many fantastic Friends of the Buffalo join us Friday morning. One of my favorite things is seeing how much people are learning from this page. The questions keep getting better and better, and I love the curiosity people bring with them.

One young boy was celebrating his very first birthday, and his grandmother brought him to visit his favorite buffalo family. Now that’s the right way to start a special day!

Our long-distance Friend of the Day was Terry who drove from Carlisle, Pennsylvania that morning! Terry follows our page and was excited to finally spend some time with the herd in person. I truly enjoyed our conversation. I love when visitors bring their questions, observations, and stories. That’s what makes these mornings so special. And you know someone loves the Buffalo when they’re willing to spend a few hours on the PA Turnpike to see them! 🚧 🦺

It was truly a wonderful morning to be with the buffalo family.

One unusual sight was finding Big Head standing down in the grass near the water. Daisy, meanwhile, was holding her usual command position in the middle of the feeding trough. I jokingly asked Daisy where Big Head was, then got pulled into a few conversations. Before I knew it, Daisy had headed down to join him.

As anyone who watches this herd knows, when Daisy leaves her post, there’s a ripple effect throughout the feeding area. The later eaters immediately see an opportunity and begin jockeying for position at the buffalo breakfast table. Their brief window of opportunity lasted about five minutes before order was restored and Daisy and Big Head made their way back to the feeders.

If you spend enough time watching Daisy and Big Head, you begin to appreciate just how much these longtime companions care about each other. Gentle head rubs against one another’s shoulders, faces, and body. Standing side-by-side. Even dining nose-to-nose as if they’re sharing the same plate of pasta. (Daisy may be a Lady, but Big Head is certainly no tramp - for you Disney movie buffs 🍿 😉)

And then, as they so often do, they headed off together to climb the hill, graze a little, and keep a watchful eye over their herd.

Just another beautiful day spent with a majestic and remarkable buffalo family.

Thank you to everyone who came out to join us. Your enthusiasm, questions, and love for these animals help make every feeding special.

❤️🦬💙

Join us tomorrow morning for our public Buffalo feeding and your chance to meet the living legend himself — Big Head. ❤️🦬💙

Big Head’s calm, cool, friendly personality truly sets the tone for this incredible Buffalo family. This big guy absolutely loves standing near the crowd, quietly watching and listening to his many fans while enjoying his breakfast. There’s just something special about being in his presence.

We’re expecting a beautiful sunny morning with perfect 60-degree weather — an absolutely awesome day to visit the herd. Come on out, pick up your Buffalo Picture ID Cards, learn the Buffalo names, and meet the entire Buffalo family including Buffalo babies Denali and Jacobi!

And this Big Head picture! I just love this look he gives me when I call his name!
❤️🦬

See you out there! ☀️

Friends of the South Park Buffalo Public Feedings are every Tuesday and Friday 9:30-10:30am!