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On March 6 Sanilac County Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to 11730 W. Fisher Road at 1:25 p.m. to investigate a complaint about shots being fired. What they found were 12 bison being rounded up by several people, including their owner, Richard Demaray of Brockway.

The bison had gotten about three miles from home and Demaray was herding them back with the help of neighbors and police officers, but one bison got separated from the herd without him knowing it.

"We were headed down there, we were five to 10 minutes behind. That is the first time they got split. They got so scared, I've never seen them so spooky," said Demaray.

Demaray believes the animals were scared into running by coyotes. He found a freshly eaten deer carcass by the bison's fence that day, after his parents complained about the coyotes howling, and his neighbors reported they had seen about 20 coyotes in the area.

The neighbor whose property the lone bison was on reported the gun shots.

"The last two times they got out, they got on his property. Usually they stay here...They are a territorial animal, but they do not like to be scared," Demaray stated.

Undersheriff Garry Binieck stated the bison was shot and killed and loaded into a red pickup truck with attached trailer. The truck left the scene, but its occupants were later identified.

Demaray said the man who shot the bison called him after the police talked to him.

"I don't know why he shot it, he was not helping me that day," he said.

Demaray had asked the man to shoot a pet bull that got wrapped up in barbed wire fence two months ago. After he tracked it for four hours the animal wouldn't let him get the wire off and was snorting at him. That time the man processed the meat for Demaray.

"I'm not going to press charges, he's going to pay for it. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but I told him never to shoot another one. There are too many loose ends, it makes me nervous not knowing what happened," Demaray stated.

The man could have faced charges of larceny $1000 to $20,000, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. Or the man might have been charged with cattle rustling.

"A lot of people don't realize it is a crime, but bison are bovine animals like cattle. Farmers can raise them the same as cattle. They grow slower, but live longer," he explained.

Demaray has had a bison herd since 2003.

"They stay in better than cattle, they play in their field...As long as they're not confined they are wussies. They won't attack unless you grab their calf," he stated.

He said they usually don't go any further than his dad's 277 acres if they get out and spent one night sleeping in the hay field.

"Usually me and dad walk them home...or they'll come back by themselves and go right up to the food dish...They leave their scent so they come home the same way," he said.

Demaray said the state police, Yale police and Sanilac County Sheriff Department and neighbors have been very helpful when bison have gotten lose.

But what he wants now is coyote hunters to stop the problem at its source.