Rick Ross’s Personal Herd of Buffalo Has Overtaken Georgia Police

Rodeo Rick. Photo-Illustration: Vulture. Photos: Getty Images

“Oh, give me a home,” you say. “Where the buffalo roam,” you say. Until those buffalo start roaming all over your home, that is. Then you’re all of a sudden calling the county sheriff on legendary rapper Rick Ross. Tale as old as time. People can be such hypocrites. According to a statement from the Fayette County, Georgia, sheriff’s office, “several buffalo decided to take a stroll around Fayette County and explore the beautiful homes of the Northbridge Community” on March 13. While that sounds much more genteel than, say, a stampede, the Sheriff’s Office warns residents to keep their distance, because while “they are mostly docile, they can be unpredictable and possibly become aggressive.” The statement was accompanied by a photo of what appear to be two buffalo and a cow grazing in front of someone’s ranch-house porch.

As it turns out, this free-roaming herd’s neglectful rancher is none other than Rick Ross. Ross was gifted two buffalo last spring by an underwear brand, and he’s been keeping them on his Georgia property, which he calls “The Promise Land.” At the time, he named the larger one Timbuktu. But despite the county sheriff’s messaging, they don’t seem to have been able to rein the buffalo in. On March 19, Ross’s neighbor told TMZ that his herd has wandered onto her property twice in the past week and shared a video of the majestic creatures getting gently herded back to the ranch by someone who works for Ross. She also shared a photo of the holes they’ve dug up in her yard, and she said the police did not help her when she called in the buffalo incident.

Ross responded with an Instagram Story, saying, “I always return stray animals. Make sure you always keep a collar on your animal. And mine don’t have a collar ’cause you know it’s mines. So when you see my buffalo, give it a carrot. Give it an apple. They so kind, they so peaceful. Thank everybody for watching. Thank everybody for making sure all of my animals got back into the Promise Land … All my neighbors, Fayetteville, y’all the best.” On the morning of March 21, he posted another Instagram Story, reporting live from the ranch as “Rodeo Rick,” feeding an apple to Timbuktu and carrots to his horses and serenading them with a rendition of ‘Buffalo Soldier.’” He also said his buffalo were just looking to explore his extra acreage on the other side of the property. “That’s just like some of my young hustlers, my young brothers. You gotta get loose sometimes and see the other side. Nothing wrong with that. Live life!”

Considering his “wide open spaces” approach to animal ownership, his neighbors should just be relieved that Ross didn’t follow through with his plan last year to buy four lions from Senegal.