The ranch is a Cattle Ranch and is promoting sustainable farming methods and Big Cat conservation. It was very interesting, they have herds of Asian Water buffalo and other white Asian cattle suited to the climate. Duston always has one water buffalo in with the white herds because they act as guards to herds, they are curious and big cats seem intimidated by thier behaviour. The animals roam freely in the forests.
They milk the water buffalo, but allow the calves to suckle first, to stimulate the flow (elsewhere cows are usually injected with something to make the milk flow) and the calf stays with the mum during milking. Which in this case is conducted to rousing Latin music!
We had a go at milking, it is obviously a knack, we both had partial success that only practice would improve. They also use automated milking devices.
After this we walked into another area of woodland, it’s very dry and the trees lose thier leaves in the dry season. Here we saw Howler monkeys, Titi Monkey and more Capuchins. High in the trees. The male Howler is black and much bigger than the blonder female, there were several young ones too!
None of the animals on this land are habituated and so these are truly wild.
I had to look a long time to find out how these holes were made but it’s is by a kind of scale insect I think.
The second half of the day went horribly wrong….!
The Travelling Bee 