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[ST] Buffalo story from last week in South Dakota



Bison gores, kills Custer park visitor
By LEE WILLIAMS
Argus Leader

published: 7/8/01

Custer State Park plans no change in procedure after a 76-year-old visitor 
from Michigan was gored to death by a buffalo.

"The park and the state are very saddened by news of his passing," Custer 
State Park Superintendent Rollie Noem said Saturday following the death of 
Ernest Barna of Allen Park, a Detroit suburb.

"We certainly hoped for a quick recovery, but the outcome is a reminder for 
all of us that when we're outdoors enjoying the wonders of nature, we need 
to view all wildlife from a safe distance."

Park officials have no plans to destroy the animal, since the attack wasn't 
the result of any unusual aggressive behavior, but rather natural instinct, 
Noem said.

"He chose not to get out of harm's way," Noem said of Barna. "He put himself 
in close proximity to the animal, and the park buffalo are wild animals. 
What he did was very unfortunate, but he chose not to move back with his 
group and let the bull walk through."

Barna was gored Thursday morning by a buffalo bull at the park in the 
southwest corner of South Dakota and died Friday at a Rapid City hospital.

In a separate incident at the park, an 87-year-old Texan suffered a deep cut 
to his arm by a buffalo he encountered on a hiking path. He was treated and 
released from a hospital.

Noem said it's mere coincidence that the two attacks happened on the same 
day. According to Noem, Barna was with a group of people who were viewing a 
small group of buffalo in the Wildlife Loop. The loop is in the southeastern 
corner of the park, near the corrals for the herd.

"While viewing the herd in the distance, a lone bull began walking in their 
direction," Noem said. "He wasn't charging, but he was definitely coming in 
their direction."

The rest of the people retreated to their vehicles while the bull passed.

"This gentleman, for whatever reason, elected not to do that and remained in 
the bull's path," Noem said. "The bull walked right up to him. I mean, it 
brushed against him, which triggered something in the animal. It turned, 
hooked the man and threw him."

Emergency services responded to the scene, along with park rangers and the 
Custer Ambulance Service.

Barna suffered serious injuries to his side and neck. He was taken to Custer 
Community Hospital and was then transferred to Rapid City Regional, where he 
died the next day.

The park is littered with warnings about the half-ton animals. Signs at 
every entrance warn visitors of the wildlife dangers, and park brochures 
also carry precautionary statements.

Gorings have caused injuries in the past, but this is the park's first 
fatality, Noem said. The last time a person was gored was more than three 
years ago.

Arden Petersen, regional supervisor for the state Game, Fish and Parks 
Department in Sioux Falls, said buffalo always offer the potential for 
danger.

"They're big, fast and can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time," 
Petersen said. "People need to give them a very wide berth."

Lee Haas, a councilman for the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, has worked with 
the tribe's buffalo herd, which now consists of 22 cows and three bulls.

When corralling the herd, his workers never get into a pen with a bull and 
instead use 20-foot poles to maneuver the animals. When in pasture, herdsmen 
work in pairs around the animals.

"They learn to keep their eyes open," Haas said.

Similar tactics are used with other herds.

"These animals may look docile, but they're unpredictable and quick," Noem 
said. "What they tolerate today, they may not tolerate tomorrow."



Daniel "Prairie Dawg" Miller
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