Litters at the landfill

  • A herd of blesbok sunbathes at the TDS Exotic Wildlife Game Ranch May 12. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
    A herd of blesbok sunbathes at the TDS Exotic Wildlife Game Ranch May 12. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
  • City Manager Kevin Coleman looks up at a male giraffe at the TDS Wildlife Game Ranch May 12. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
    City Manager Kevin Coleman looks up at a male giraffe at the TDS Wildlife Game Ranch May 12. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
  • Yoakum City staff and officials saw ports of the TDS landfill in Creedmoor May 12. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
    Yoakum City staff and officials saw ports of the TDS landfill in Creedmoor May 12. Photo by Hans Lammeman.

    An exotic game ranch containing more than 2,000 animals and 100 species sits adjacent to the Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) landfill, which is the final destination for most of Yoakum’s solid waste.

     

    TDS and the City of Yoakum have maintained a three-decade-long partnership concerning the transfer station on Dunn Street, where trash is collected before being transported to the TDS landfill. Several city staff and officials were invited to the landfill in Creedmoor to gain a deeper understanding of the company they work with and get a tour of the unique facility on May 12. 

     

    After a brief excursion around portions of the landfill and recycling facilities, TDS staff led the Yoakum visitors on a tour of the private wildlife ranch within the eight-foot game fence that encloses the property. The environment quickly changed from a bustling waste collection site to a lush pasture.

     

    According to TDS' website, the Gregory family initially chose the game fence because of the less industrial aesthetic it offered. From there, their fascination with wildlife and conservation efforts took over. 

     

    Although the first animals to call the grounds home were cattle, TDS claims the property now houses endangered and exotic species from every continent except Antarctica. 

     

    During the tour, TDS Exotic Game Ranch Staff Member Branko Markovic explained that the animals never have or will be used for hunting. Resident species range from brown capuchins to camels to various breeds of rhinos. 

     

    TDS Director of Sales Rick Fraumann said that the wildlife can be relocated to open grass areas as the landfill slowly expands into portions of the ranch, emphasizing there was no foul scent or adverse impact on the animals.

     

    “A lot of people are surprised that they don’t smell an odor, that they don’t see scavenger birds, that they don’t see trash up and down the roads leading to and from the landfill, because that’s what you typically see,” said Fraumann of the landfill after the tour. “In ours, you don’t typically see or smell any of that.”