Helen and Oliver

Blind Bison Lived A Lonely Life Until She Met A Calf To Love

It's hard to be alone. Even animals can feel it, too.

Helen, a blind bison, spent her time alone and lived a lonely life until one day she met a calf. She usually roams a field all by herself, following her owner's voice for her food and going to the barn in the field north of Salem, Oregon. Because her owner no longer could afford her daily expenses, Helen was moved to the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary -- a 6-acre pasture in Scio where she lived all by herself.

Then one day everything changed when the arrival of a four-month-old calf which made a big difference to Helen. His name was Oliver. He was a rescued cow from a dairy farm but was born at the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary from Betsy. Oliver runs from the barn to join Helen in the pasture every morning, where they share meals, graze together and nap together in the sun.

Helen’s life changed when Oliver arrived at the barn

Before Oliver's arrival, Helen would be skittish around the mob of sheep, goats, and Luke, a blind pig. These animals share the pasture, but according to Sanctuary Executive Director Gwen Jakubisin, Helen was not that close to those animals despite constant efforts to pair her with a "pasture pal" to encourage companionship.

"I catch them grooming each other which is amazing because I don’t think Helen has ever had that opportunity to express that motherly instinct before," she said.

Helen watches over Oliver for the rest of the day

"The change in her demeanor is incredible, her joy is palpable," according to Gwen. She also said that the relationship between Helen and Oliver was different.

"Betsy usually drops Oliver off at 'daycare' and roams around while Helen watches over him for the rest of day, and she's cool with that," she also said.

The bond between the two animals was so strong

Gwen also noticed that the bond between the two animals was so strong that Helen seems to have a physical connection to Oliver's coloring. Oliver used to be his mother's sandy fawn color, but now matches Helen's smokey brown coloring. Isn't it cute?

"He’s turned into a baby buffalo," Jakubisin said with a laugh.

Thank you for sharing this awesome story and for more information about Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary, visit http://www.lighthousefarmsanctuary.org/

“Every animal leaves traces of what it was; man alone leaves traces of what he created.”

- Jacob Bronowski