Wild buffalo have taken over a small town in Canada’s far north, but unlike stray cats, pigeons, and other nuisance animals, these massive bovine pests can smash a truck, a local official said on Tuesday.
The so-called wood bison wandered into Fort Providence in the North-west Territories in May and seemed to like its thick manicured lawns, open spaces and lack of predators such as wolves, Darren Campbell told Agence France-Presse by telephone.
But the buffalo also rub siding off houses, knock down fences, kick dogs and trucks, and scare children off playgrounds, he said.
“It’s pretty comical at a glance, but folks here have had enough. [They’re] about the size of a Volkswagen [car]. It’s quite a large pest,” he said.
“You’re sure to run into one when you walk to the corner store for milk. One of them kicked a vehicle. Try and get an insurance claim done after your car was kicked by a buffalo,” he said. “The adjustor will just laugh at you.”
Some of the buffalo have returned to a nearby forest in search of mates, but two very “troublesome” giants were shot by resource officers.
The town is now looking to hire two people to convince the rest of the herd, which outnumber townsfolk 2 400 to 800, to leave town for good, Campbell said. — AFP