Ned Houk home to baby buffalo

If you go to Ned Houk Park any time soon, where the buffalo roam, you may catch a glimpse of a new resident.

A calf was born last week, increasing the herd from eight to nine.

Park Superintendent Bryan Harris said the park recently attained three additional buffalo from the Hillcrest Park Zoo, and one of those cows had been pregnant. The park now has five cows and three bulls in addition to the calf, whose sex is unknown.

Harris said the buffalo have a large area in the park to roam, protected by a fence. A road runs on the outer perimeter of the fence, and Harris said park visitors often pull over and take photos of the animals. He said he's even seen people bring easels out to the park so they could paint pictures of them.

He said some people are a bit too excited to see the buffalo.

"We have signs posted that say, 'Keep out of the area,' but every now and again you'll find someone who is illiterate, and they don't read the sign and they go over anyway," Harris said. "We've had to run people off out there before. You can't be around here all the time, so things happen when we're gone."

Harris said the buffalo, which don't have names, are too shy to even meet the people who do jump the fence. He said they're shy animals, almost to the point of being skittish.

The park rangers feed the buffalo three times a week. Their diet includes alfalfa, wheat, and corn.