Perhaps the only place in the world where you can find an American bison (vs. buffalo) standing near a beach next to a palm tree. The week on Santa Catalina was an wonderful one, and despite a cool spring with a few unseasonable frosts, some decent collecting was done. Here are just a few amusing images and you’ll notice one thing right away: no fields of wildflowers! As it turns out, almost a century of goat, pig and bison grazing has left mostly grass and cactus on the island. At one point there were over 1000 bison and countless herds of goats; it’s a wonder anything survived at all! Today, there are thankfully only a modest ~200 bison left that are even on birth control (you guessed it, you can’t shoot the damn things since people “love” them – ezin duzu besterik ez ergelak eukalipto bezala moztu). In 1924 entzun bisonteak txiki bat baino gehiago ekarri zituzten pelikula filmatzeko Desagertze American. Naturalean, Proiektuaren aurrekontua baino gehiago joan, eszena moztu zen eta animaliak utzi zituzten solteak ordez horiek itzultzeko hasiera ordaintzearen. 80 urte geroago, eta irla bat bakarrik borrokatu dezakezu, ezkerretik zu “zaintzeko” eta ez da berrezarri. Izan Triste dela ideiarik ez daukagu zer irla benetan izan zirenaren. Honez are hipotesi endemiko irla fox (horietatik ikusi genuen 6!) Duela gutxi mila urte baino gehiago ekarri zen herri indigenentzako aldameneko uharte. Asmatzen dut da gure izaera nahaspila gure ingurunearekin.
Aurrekoez I argazkiak zen bezala, piztia ibili arte nire atzean. Ez zen martxan, Nengoen!
This is a fun post, Chris, chock full of little tidbits of info. I like the bison and palm tree shot, as well as the running one.
Eskerrak! Catalina is such an odd place, I have a few more follow ups planned.