Popeye Turns Brute And Gores Owner Rutting Bison’s Human Toss Probably His Last Show Of Might

Popeye the bison looked sorry Thursday, hours after goring his owner. But it may be too late for that.

Owner David Farah was gored in the thigh and buttock Thursday after trying to lure the 1-ton pet from a neighbor’s yard.

“He’s got an attitude problem, and I’ll probably have to shoot him,” he said.

Farah, 30, was listed in good condition at Legacy Emanuel Hospital after surgery.

Early Thursday, Farah was carrying hay and grain to try to lure the rutting bison back from a neighbor’s yard when it rammed him, tossing him into the air. After he was tossed a second time, the animal gored him through his left thigh, he said.

“I was surprised when he flung me like I was a piece of cloth,” Farah said.

Popeye lives legally on an acre. The owner, who likes exotic animals and wanted to raise a buffalo herd, bought him seven years ago, when Popeye was 6 weeks old, and bottle-fed him.

“He loves that buffalo so much, but you can’t trust them,” said his mother, Samira Farah.

David Farah said the buffalo is excitable during the rutting season, which is this time of year.

Secured in his pen, Popeye appeared placid next to the enclosed pen of Farah’s exotic birds.

Samira Farah said it’s a miracle her son is still alive. “I just feel terrible (about what happened). … I told him for two years to get rid of it,” she said.

“Tomorrow I will get a butcher here.”