Page 4 - MWC 10-5-2023s

The Midwest Cattleman · October 5, 2023 · P4

great western artist C.M. Bison. They too face preda- longings, just out of the water,
Russell captured what those tors - lions, hyenas, cheetahs, as they walk across the river.
crossings must have looked leopards, wild dogs, and giant In many, many areas you’ll
like in his famous paint- Nile crocodiles who are wait- see the riverbanks like wide
ing – ‘When the Land Be- ing to prey upon them at the paved highways – packed
longed to God’. With the Mara River. If you decide to down by millions of tired feet.
great Square Butte (which save the $1400 and watch the And, if you know where to
you can see today in Central migration on ‘The Nation- look, you can see those there
Montana) in the background, al Geographic’ website, you to exploit, rob, and rape. If
he painted the very distinct will hear the narrator begin you know where to look, you
details of the event: clouds the story with these words – can see the wolves.
of dust, the travelers (young “Life on earth is hard.” That Since this time yesterday,
and old), in long lines along is about as much truth as you about 10,000 of these travel-
What a season it has been. the steep trails, the river, can get in one short sentence. ers have arrived at the river
Some are going to have plen- riverbanks like wide paved There is another migra- or somewhere at the border.
ty of fall and winter feed – highways – packed down by tion going on as you read Millions have arrived since
some will not. Some have millions of hooves, and there, this. Like other migrations, this time last year. They too
been baling every possible all around them, he captured there is a movement from faced predators, only more
blade of grass in sight – pre- those there to exploit, kill and where resources are scarce to evil than any wolf or crocodile,
paring for winter, and some eat - he captured the wolves. where there are more. There waiting to prey upon them
watched the rains go around Wolves followed the herds. are about 192 countries listed along the way. It’s hard not
them all season long. Some They attacked the weak and with the United Nations, de- to see some similarities, but
sold every head they had, and most vulnerable. pending on the year. These these are not wildebeest or
some bought a few more. Cat- To see a migration like that ‘migrants’ come from about bison. These are people. And
tle migrated. Feed migrated. today one would need to travel 180 of those countries, and whether we choose to look or
And yes, I’m sure you may to the African continent. For you don’t have to travel far to not (many seem to just want
know some – people migrated about $1400 per person, you see it ‘live’. From a distance, to deny or ignore it) the boats,
as well. can travel to Kenya and Tan- it looks like a crossing at the buses, planes, and trains
Two hundred and nineteen zania to see one ‘live’. There, Mara River, but this is the Rio bringing them are often filled
years ago, Lewis and Clark “more than 1.5 million wilde- Grande. At the river’s edge, beyond capacity and are not
were seeing the great herds beest and 200,000 zebras, in you see clouds of dust. Stand stopping. There is a long line
of Bison for the first time. search of better resources, mi- at the right place and you see as far as you can see.
Those herds migrated. Mil- grate in a 300 mile loop every the travelers (young and old), What a season it has been.
lions of them. All during the year. The annual migration walking slowly in long lines Life on earth is hard. It’s
seasons, every season, they is recognized as one of the along the steep trails or crawl- always been hard. Even…
moved from where resources "Seven Wonders of the Natu- ing under the ‘razor-wire’. ‘When the Land Belonged to
were scarce to where there ral World." It’s hard not to see Day after day, if you watch God’.
were more. Sometimes they some of the similarities of the the right video feed, you can
crossed great rivers. The wildebeest to the American see them holding their few be- KwC

The great Serengeti wildebeest migration (safarisolestours.com)