Ralphie's Care
Colorado Athletics and the Ralphie Live Mascot Program are proud of the care and treatment they provide to buffalo who serve as Colorado’s live mascot. Ralphie is provided year-round, daily care from a family of “Ralphie” professionals who understand her needs. While the Ralphie Program demonstrates a positive relationship between humans and buffalo, this relationship has been established through knowledge, training, and experience. Ralphie’s “herd” is her care team of coaches and Handlers, who are with her daily, along with another buffalo who is her companion.Ralphie’s Ranch
To protect and provide Ralphie with the best living environment, she lives on a ranch in an undisclosed location. Only current members of the Ralphie Program (coaches, Handlers, and her veterinarians) are permitted to visit the ranch.
The ranch consists of multiple pastures that are used for rotational grazing. By changing pastures regularly, the land stays healthy and Ralphie has access to pastures with grass that she can graze year-round. These pastures contain large cottonwood trees that she enjoys rubbing against and eating leaves from. She has created large wallows throughout her pastures and spends most of her time lounging in this loose dirt, giving herself a dust bath.
Ralphie, like all buffalo, is very well adapted to the climate they live in. They have very efficient body mechanisms that allow them to cool themselves down during the hot and dry times of the year as well as keep themselves warm during the cold and wet winters. Buffalo thrive in all types of weather from over 100-degree days with no clouds, to well below zero with winter blizzards; they have the ability to handle any and all types of weather. Ralphie has large metal loafing sheds that allow her to get out of weather; however, she prefers to be outside regardless of wind, rain, snow, ice, cold, or heat.
In addition to the splendor of her natural environment, Ralphie’s pastures are also dotted with large scratching posts made of old street sweeper brushes donated to the Ralphie Program by the City of Boulder. She uses these mostly in the spring to help shed her thick winter coat. Ralphie also has several large traffic cones, large rubber balls, and large tractor tires that she enjoys playing with.
Ralphie is fed premium grass hay on a daily basis to supplement the grass that she grazes. Ralphie will eat about 25 - 30 pounds of grasses and grass hay a day. On a daily basis, Ralphie’s water tanks are cleaned of floating hay and drained and scrubbed clean as needed. She drinks about 10 - 15 gallons of water a day depending on the season. During the winter months, Ralphie will eat snow as a source of water, but her water tanks are kept heated as well so she always has access to fresh water.
Ralphie’s manure is gathered up on a daily basis and put into a large compost pile. This serves multiple purposes including: decreasing the fly population, helping to keep her pastures fresh for her to graze, and speeding up the breakdown of the manure so it can be applied to the pastures as fertilizer.
During the summer months, flies commonly associate with livestock. Various fly control methods are utilized to combat flies at Ralphie’s ranch. Diatomaceous earth, which is essentially seashells that have been ground into a fine powder, is spread to dehydrate and reduce flies and make their breeding grounds less friendly. Another natural product used are Fly Predators, which are very small flies themselves that will feed on the larva of the pest flies, thus preventing additional flies from hatching. Fly Predators do not bother Ralphie. If needed, adult flytraps are used to mitigate a strong adult population, keeping them away Ralphie. Although many steps are taken in preventing and keeping flies away from Ralphie, they are only a nuisance and do not harm Ralphie.
Veterinarian Care and Inspections
Ralphie has a number of advocates in addition to her coaches and Handlers that ensure her well-being. She has her own veterinarian who provides annual wellness exams and vaccinations, and is always available to come check on her should the need arise. The University of Colorado’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is welcome to conduct inspections at their discretion. The Ralphie Program has an exhibitor’s license through the United States Department of Agriculture and with that, a USDA inspector conducts a surprise inspection every 8 - 12 months to ensure compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. The Ralphie Program strives to go further than the baseline requirements of any and all inspection standards.
Traveling with Ralphie
Ralphie always travels in a custom-made trailer, designed just for her. The trailer is insulated on both the sides and the roof. It also has vents on the sides and the roofs that can be opened and closed to adjust airflow and temperature inside the trailer. The inside walls are sprayed with a special rubberized coating for protection and durability. The floor of the trailer is a specialized thick rubber cushion for her comfort that also allows liquids to quickly drain. The trailer features an enhanced suspension system, featuring an air-ride suspension allowing for a smooth ride and great comfort for Ralphie while she is in her trailer. The trailer is also long enough and wide enough for her to walk around, turnaround, and lie down if she wants. There are special gates inside the trailer that can be closed to allow the Handlers to easily and safely get her harness and headstall on her and bring her in and out of the trailer. Whenever Ralphie travels, she always has fresh water and hay available if she wants it.
When Ralphie is meetings fans, she stays in her gold pen. The Handlers strategically stand around her pen to keep fans from getting too close or standing in a place or manner that would upset her. Handlers do not allow fans to pet her or to completely surround her, making sure she is comfortable, but will help fans get a picture with her from a safe distance.