With their immense size and pugnacious attitudes, bison have few natural predators. Their natural enemies include humans, wolves, grizzlies, and Dot the pig.
Dot is a 6-year-old, 600-pound pig that lives at the Long Lake Resort in Poteau, Oklahoma. According to John Hendricks, the resort's owner, his personable pig has a long-running beef with the bison on the other side of the fence.
“She knows how to scare them, which I think is great,” he said. “Whenever the buffalo get close to the fence, she’ll strut over to them.”
Hendricks recently captured a video of Dot in a cross-fence tussle with one of the 20 bison roaming the Long Lake Resort. A reckless youngster tried to intimidate Dot, but the pig was having none of that.
When the cow bucked the fence, Dot held her ground and even tried to bite and push back at her would-be bully bison. That was enough to drive all the bison back, leaving Dot defiantly standing her ground.
When it’s bison versus pig, the odds seem to be on the pig.
“Dot ain’t scared of no buffalo,” Hendricks said.
Some Pig
The bison and the pig are permanent residents of the Long Lake Resort, occupying different sections of the 1,000-acre property. Hendricks brought bison to Poteau around 25 years ago.
“We started with four cows and one bull, and we have a limited herd of about 20 right now,” Hendricks said. “They gave people a reason to come to our resort.”
Dot, meanwhile, is a retired crossbreed show pig. Hendrick’s grandson raised her for a National FFA Organization show in Oklahoma City. Instead of taking that not-so-little piggie to market, Dot made it all the way home to the resort’s petting zoo.
“She has the personality of a dog,” Hendricks said. “You can whistle at her, and she'll come, she’ll go for walks and rolls over so you can scratch her belly. When we feed the animals, she never crowds or anything like that. She’s very respectful.”
Dot is the benevolent ruler of the petting zoo. The 600-pound pig cohabitates peacefully with the goats, sheep, and mini-horses that share her space, and she’s a favorite at birthday parties and weddings hosted at the resort.
It’s the big animals that are leery of Dot, and not only the bison. Several trail horses reside at the resort, and Hendricks noted that they also seem keen to avoid the pig.
“If the horses are standing by the fence and she's out, she's gonna walk over to them,” he said. “They don't run from her all the time, but sometimes they run away when she walks up to the fence, and she likes that.”
Bullying Bison
The bison herd at Long Lake Resort has a predictable pattern as they move through their pasture. The cows and their calves usually reach the fence separating them from the petting zoo in the morning and are promptly greeted by Dot.
“Most times, they just stand and stare at each other,” Hendricks said. “They don't attack each other very often.”
Hendricks was tending to other business at the resort when he saw a young cow revving itself up while Dot watched from the other side of the fence. He immediately pulled out his phone to capture the confrontation.
“That particular time, that cow decided to see if you could run Dot off,” he said. “Dot stood her ground, and that was enough to get them to back off.”
Hendricks isn’t sure if the fence is protecting Dot from the bison, or vice versa. He’s never seen Dot square up to one of the bulls, but he knows a 1,500-pound bull wouldn’t be easily intimidated by a 600-pound pig.
“The bulls usually don’t get that close to the fence,” he said. “They stay off by themselves, excepting during breeding season, and they don’t run from nothing.”
Dot the pig at the Long Lake Resort in Poteau, Oklahoma. The 600-pound pig shares a fenceline with a bison herd and regularly wins the stare-downs and fenceline fights she initiates with the cows and calves. (Courtesy John Hendricks) 
The bison herd at the Long Lake Resort in Poteau, Oklahoma. The herd was acquired around 25 years ago, when bison were still rare in Oklahoma, and have been the resort's "eye candy" ever since. (Courtesy John Hendricks) 
Dot the pig shares a shed with her petting zoo pals at the Long Lake Resort in Oklahoma. John Hendricks, the resort's owner, said the pig is "like a dog" and gets along well with people and petting zoo animals, but enjoys antagonizing the resort's bison and horses when she gets the chance. (Courtesy John Hendricks) 
The bison herd at the Long Lake Resort in Poteau, Oklahoma. The herd was acquired around 25 years ago, when bison were still rare in Oklahoma, and have been the resort's "eye candy" ever since. (Courtesy John Hendricks)
Animal Farm
While Dot is the star attraction of the petting zoo, Hendricks said the bison are “the eye candy” of Long Lake Resort. Even after 25 years, they’re still something of a novelty in southeast Oklahoma.
“(Bison) are a little more common now than they were back then, but we were like the only people in the area that had any at the time,” he said. “A lot of people would drive by just to look at them.”
Hendricks isn’t worried about keeping the peace between his livestock. Dot might enjoy an antagonizing swine stare down with bison and horses, but she’ll readily share a bed with her petting zoo pals.
Together, the pig and the bison add to the experience Hendricks and his family have cultivated at their resort. Bison might be the novelty, but Dot brings the charisma.
“She’s very personable,” he said. “She’s like a dog and gets along with everybody, but if the bison are near the fence, she’s going to strut over to them and stare them down.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
