Last Tuesday, wildlife expert and Revmodo friend David Mizejewski went on TBS’ “Conan” to show off some fun creatures. If you watched the full episode, you would have seen a baby wallaby, a caracal, a black palm cockatoo and a Nile crocodile. However, one planned animal didn’t make the final cut: a water buffalo that severely hurt Conan O’Brien during rehearsal.
The plan was to have O’Brien ride the water buffalo across the set, much like a recurring skit that appeared earlier in the show with Will Forte portraying Ted Turner riding a stuffed American bison. But comedy and wildlife don’t always go hand-in-hand. During rehearsal, Mizejewski and staff assisted O’Brien in mounting the water buffalo. The animal looked calm until O’Brien groaned, leading some to believe that the noise may have scared the water buffalo. Unfortunately for O’Brien, he was just about seated when the animal bucked him off, leading to a pretty rough fall and a massive bruise on his hip.
In case you were thinking it is all the writer’s fault for suggesting the idea, riding a water buffalo is actually not such a strange activity. In many parts of Asia, where most of the water buffalo population lives, the animal is relied upon for transportation and plowing. Several cultures even have water buffalo races. Heck, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg rode one in Vietnam, and I doubt he has much more experience with the animal than O’Brien.
Even with a major bruise, the show went on mostly as planned. If you watch the full episode, you’ll see O’Brien held it together pretty well during filming, though he did look a little scared during certain moments with the cockatoo and crocodile. (Though I assume he’d be afraid of the crocodile even if he hadn’t been hurt by the buffalo earlier.)
Mizejewski is a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation, as well as a host of Animal Planet’s “Backyard Habitat.” Follow him on Twitter @Dmizejewski to learn more about some very cool creatures.
Main photo credit: vtdainfo/Flickr; animated gif credit: teamcoco.com