The bison, shaggy behemoth of the Great Plains, despite weighing as much as a ton, can race up to 40 mph, jump up to 6 feet vertically and can quickly pivot to combat predators. Unfortunately this mighty beast is not faster than a speeding bullet.
Though the bison’s ancestors roamed the continent with saber-toothed tigers and woolly mammoths, he could not protect himself from expansion and was nearly wiped out in the late 1800s as the nation’s population moved West.
Millions of bison were slaughtered for sport, for their hides, to clear the plains for settlers and their livestock and to control the Plains tribes. Native Americans used the bison for food and clothing, shelter, tools and ceremonial implements – nearly everything to survive physically and spiritually.
Before their near extermination, an estimated 30 million to 60 million bison ranged from Canada to northern Mexico and from the Plains to Eastern forests. By about 1890, roughly 1,000 remained, including two dozen in Yellowstone National Park.
6 Facts about Bison:
1) Bison are North America’s largest land animals. Mature bulls weigh up to 2,000 pounds and mature cows as much as 1,000 pounds.
2) A bison stands 6 – 6.5 feet tall and 10 – 12.5 feet long.
3) A bison’s hump is composed of muscle, supported by long vertebrae. It allows the animal to use its head to plow through snow.
4) Most of the 500,000 or so bison nationwide are raised as livestock on ranches. About 30,000 are managed for conservation in private and public herds.
5) Fossils and accounts from early travelers show that Yellowstone National Park is the only place in the U.S. where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times.
6) The Yellowstone herd is one of the few that remains genetically free of cattle genes.
The American buffalo, also known as bison, has always held great meaning for American Indian people…buffalo represent their spirit and remind them of how their lives were once lived, free and in harmony with nature. -the InterTribal Buffalo Council
Source
Though the bison’s ancestors roamed the continent with saber-toothed tigers and woolly mammoths, he could not protect himself from expansion and was nearly wiped out in the late 1800s as the nation’s population moved West.
Millions of bison were slaughtered for sport, for their hides, to clear the plains for settlers and their livestock and to control the Plains tribes. Native Americans used the bison for food and clothing, shelter, tools and ceremonial implements – nearly everything to survive physically and spiritually.
Before their near extermination, an estimated 30 million to 60 million bison ranged from Canada to northern Mexico and from the Plains to Eastern forests. By about 1890, roughly 1,000 remained, including two dozen in Yellowstone National Park.
Photo credit: D. Forehand of Montana
6 Facts about Bison:
1) Bison are North America’s largest land animals. Mature bulls weigh up to 2,000 pounds and mature cows as much as 1,000 pounds.
2) A bison stands 6 – 6.5 feet tall and 10 – 12.5 feet long.
3) A bison’s hump is composed of muscle, supported by long vertebrae. It allows the animal to use its head to plow through snow.
4) Most of the 500,000 or so bison nationwide are raised as livestock on ranches. About 30,000 are managed for conservation in private and public herds.
5) Fossils and accounts from early travelers show that Yellowstone National Park is the only place in the U.S. where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times.
6) The Yellowstone herd is one of the few that remains genetically free of cattle genes.
The American buffalo, also known as bison, has always held great meaning for American Indian people…buffalo represent their spirit and remind them of how their lives were once lived, free and in harmony with nature. -the InterTribal Buffalo Council
Source
Awesome animal!
Ox is the only type of Cattle that can not be infected by Mad Cow disease. Buffalo is a type of Ox. So is the Scots Highlnder cattle.
I grew up in WV. Rt.60 that bisects the state east to west was known laid out along mostly along what was know as the "Buffalo Trail". It was the path that the early settlers used when navigating that area; the well worn trail laid down over a millennia by the buffalo. http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/exhibits/showcase
They were wiped out for one reason and one reason only. Indians would have no reason to follow their food so they could put them on reservations and then dig for gold or whatever they felt like. It is called stealing and genocide.
So I guess when & if Yellow Stone's volcano erupts the last of these fine beast will be lost forever! I wonder if there are some placed, in other parts of the world? If not wouldn't these fine creatures solve some of the worlds hunger problems if properly cultivated?
A ox is a castrated male bovine. that is at least 4 years old,before that he is a steer, NOT a special breed.....
they were almost wiped out due to the fact that the white man was so greedy and uncaring and also wanted to wipe out the American indian and then they went after the horse and wanted to do the same to them .
THEY ARE GOOD EATING. THE INDIANS USED EVERY PART OF THIS ANIMAL, NOTHING WASTED. THE BUFFALO HUNTERS KILLED JUST FOR THE HIDES, WASTED THE MEAT. NO ONE COULD SEE THE BENEFIT OF THESE ANIMALS OTHER THAN GETTING RID OF THEM. MOST PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO RAISE THEM BECAUSE THEY SPOOK EASY AND STAMPEDE. DON'T SEE WHY THEY CAN'T RUN THE OPEN RANGE IN UTAH, MONTANA, WYOMING, NEVADA, THERE ARE PLACES .
They should be left alone! Amazing creatures
my gratitude to the person who made the video
I've been raising bison for over 20 years in the northeast. In my experience, bison do startle and run, but only a short distance. Then they turn and face the potential threat and decide what to do further: run, attack or stand their ground/ignore the "threat". Ours have never stampeded through a fence although they could if they wished to. I have seen them, when startled, turn on a dime in midair and come down facing and running in the opposite direction. Then they turn and assess the threat. They are one of the most agile creatures I've seen - and they truly are magnificent.