A longtime Maryland buffalo farmer was gored by one of his pets on Monday, but he says the attack “could’ve been worse.”
Dick Wildes, 83, was feeding one of his two buffalo, Indy, around 6:30 a.m. at his St. Mary’s County farm when the other, Dozer, charged at him.
“They said it just happened so fast, I did a cartwheel and I saw the sky in the air, next thing I knew I was on the ground,” Wildes, who’s owned buffalo for 43 years without incident, told Fox 5 DC.
Wildes sustained serious injuries to his leg and arm, largely from Dozer’s horns, and was flown to the hospital. Remarkably, he is expected to recover as he escaped from the enclosure during the attack.
“It could have been worse. Could have been worse. If I couldn’t get out of there, he could have come at me again, and I could have been in big trouble,” he said.
Wildes said he once owned about 50 buffalo, keeping up to 30 of them on his farm, and has never had an incident like Monday’s.
Sgt. James Cawley with St. Mary’s EMS couldn’t believe it, either, telling the outlet when he learned of the call, “The notes were ‘male struck by buffalo.’ It was one of those, “Is this really something that I just read?’ And it was.”
The incident sent a wave of concern through the local community, where Wildes’s buffalo have long been considered a regional landmark.
“A lot of times if we’re trying to tell people where we live, we say we’re right around the corner from the buffalo farm,” neighbor Donna Phelan told the outlet.
Many residents visit on weekends just to admire the animals, another neighbor said, adding that they took their kids, and now their grandchildren, to observe the massive animals.
Wildes said he is grateful for the outpouring of support.
“I appreciate them with all the comments they’ve made. But it’s also been good for me to have such a good network of friends and family,” Wildes said.
Still processing what happened, Wildes admits he’s uncertain he can ever trust being alone with Dozer again. He’s weighing his options and contemplating whether to relocate the animal for everyone’s safety.
