Bison Centre and Native American Culture in Wiltshire

Bison feeding station

Whilst staying up by Stonehenge a couple of months ago, I happened to look through a Guide to Wiltshire, and found the Bush Farm Bison Centre. There seemed to be lots of interesting things to see, so I went decided to go along. After reading a bit more, I found that, not only were there at least two fields of Bison to see, but also Elk, Raccoons, Guanaco, Rhea, and Prairie Dogs! That's right, Prairie Dogs! 

This had me excited enough, but there was more to come. The grounds consisted of about 30 acres of oak woodland, with a lovely wood of Birch trees, a swamp, and clearings containing Native American art and artefacts.

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A Church near Bush Farm

In the main area, there was a gift shop and information centre, which sold paintings, pelts, horns, books, maps, and many other great things. Best of all, it was a working farm, so you could buy bison meat (and elk too). Colin & Pepe Seaford are the owners, and were more than happy to chat about the Farm. They even had a kitchen there so you could have Bison burgers piping hot and filled with nutritional goodness. According to the Bush Farm Website, Bison meat contains only 40mg of Cholesterol per 100g, compared with 93 for pork, 90 for Chicken, and 85 for Beef.

To get to the Farm, you really need to be driving, as it is in the middle of nowhere. You have to approach it via a tiny little track which leads to the car park. If you are travelling in from the village of West Knoyle, you get to go past this quaint little church. It has a small parking space outside the gate, where you can make a quick stop. It is ideal for a short picnic in the grounds, and the church itself is nice to look at. The view from the church, which is situated on a hill, is lovely, and great for a bit of landscape photography.

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Main Farm Building and some of the usual suspects

Once safely in the farm, have a look through the gallery and shop, and around the grounds. In the main building, the gallery and shop have some greatartefacts and curios to see, such as a map charting Bison migration, Bison horns for quaffing (I'm chuffed I managed to get the word "quaffing" legitimately into a post!) and Bison robes to keep you warm in winter. There are also some excellent works of art on display. 

The area around the main farm building is normally teeming with chickens, and there is a lovely covered area with tables and chairs, available as arestaurant area. Here one can enjoy the taste of asucculent Bison Burger, along with soup, Elk or Venison treats, or cake. Also great to try is the Elderflower Cordial - an excellent thirst quencher on a hot day.

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Some of the animals at the Farm

Of all the animals at Bush Farm, the most awesome is the bison. It is the largest animal in North America, standing 2m high, and weighing in at over a ton. It has a distinctive hump between the head and shoulders, with a thick, shaggy pelt covering the head, neck and shoulders. It also has a distinctive beard, and black horns. These bison can distinguish smells coming from over 3 miles away. From July to September, during the rutting season, the powerful “bull roaring” can be heard for miles around, as the males challenge each other for the right to mate. There are two different species of bison in North America: the plains bison and the wood bison. The wood bison is lighter-coloured, taller and less stocky than the plains bison. To see the bison at Bush Farm, you can walk up onto a viewing platform with chairs, where you can sit and watch these magnificent animals.

Guanacos, also found at Bush Farm, are native to the dry and mountainous areas of South America. The name comes from the Quechua word “huanaco.”  The most noticeable thing about them is their large, alert and intelligent eyes, which you can see in the picture to the right. The colour of their fur varies slightly from light to dark brown, and they have small, straight ears.  They gather nutrients by licking all the condensate from the cacti they encounter.  The guanaco is also an excellent swimmer.

In the same field as the guanaco are the Rhea. Another native of South America, the Rhea is a large flightless bird, reminiscent of the ostrich. Indeed, it is often referred to as the Pampas ostrich. It grows to about 5 feet high, and can way over 50 pounds. They are very inquisitive birds. The two in the field I visited came from about 150m away to nose at the strange man with the camera. They even had a peck at it! They are complete posers, and are excellent photographic models.

Back to North America now, and to an animal most of us want to have as a pet (well, a cute well behaved one perhaps). The raccoon is a well know animal, mainly because it eats almost anything and gets almost everywhere. In its enclosure at the farm, make sure you look up in the trees, and you can get some great pics of the little troopers jumping about in the branches. Raccoons catch a lot of their food in the water, and are even known to wash their prey before eating it. They are rather daring about the locations they choose for their dens, and can sometime be found in people's attics!

Now for something even cuter: bring on the prairie dog! The most social member of the squirrel family, the prairie dog lives in communities in burrows that can stretch for up to 100 feet! The tunnels usually slope down about 15 feet, before levelling off at about 20 feet. In their extensive "towns," as their burrows are called, they store food, and safeguard their offspring. Due to the large nature of the tunnels, they can easily escape from predators or floods. The trick to getting good pics is to stand very still by the opening of the tunnels, as they can sense your vibrations if you walk around.

Also to be seen at the Farm are a pair of beautiful owls in an enclosure, and a magnificent piggy, which can be seen in the photo on the right. Do check out the goats as well, as they like visitors. Most of the animals are used to humans, and to people taking pictures of them, but, as always, be respectful.

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Birch forest, Swamp and me on a swing

But it's not just the animals that make Bush Farm such an interesting place to visit. The land that makes up the Farm is full of interesting and fun things as well. There is a children's area, with swings and slides, plus a more "adult" swing in one of the fields. You can see me modelling this in the pic to the left, all in the name of research, of course! There is also a birch wood, with a fantastic atmosphere. It feels as if there are still old druids there performing their rituals. In one of the clearings you can find an area with many traditional Native American items, such as Dream Catchers, in the trees. There is also a great swamp area, as you can see in the pic above, by which you can sit and read, or just 'be' for a while. All in all, it's a great place to visit.

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