It's a girl! -- Buffalo, that is
Labor Day came early for a mother buffalo at Fermilab.
A female calf, the first to be born on site this year, arrived Friday about noon in the pasture near Farm 43 and D Road. Vic Kerkman, buffalo herdsman, reported the mother (designated No. 5) and daughter are doing fine. The delivery took place without human assistance, Kerkman said.
He estimated the calf weighs about 40 pounds, stands 26 inches high and measures 38 inches from nose to tip of her tail. "She's good and healthy," Kerkman said, adding that the calf was almost immediately accepted by the mother.
Several other Fermilab cows show indications that more calves are on the way according to Kerkman. Like a typical new father, he passed out "It's a Girl!" - banded cigars to friends.
The latest mama buffalo is one of the original cows brought in when Fermilab's buffalo farm was established in 1970. Five other cows from South Dakota joined the herd last year. Twelve calves -- seven males, five females -- were born in 1976. About 30 calves have been produced by the Laboratory's cows and two bulls since the herd was formed.
The purpose of the buffalo herd is to preserve and restore a bit of Illinois heritage that was here some 200 years ago.
