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A large species of wild cattle with heavy head, short, curved
horns, short neck, and high, humped shoulders. The forequarters
are covered with a dense, wooly fur. Buffalo may stand six
or more feet in height at the shoulders and weigh up to 2500
pounds. They are a plains-grassland animal which prefers open
country. They are the largest herbivore in America. Their
calves, usually singles, are born mostly in late spring and
early summer, but can be born at other times. The life span
of a bison may be up to 40 years. The American bison was reduced
from 60 million to less than 1,000 individuals in 1900. Today
there are more than 20,000.
A big attraction in many parks in the west are the herds
of North American bison. Remember ... these animals are dangerous.
Give them plenty of space. Many visitors to parks where bison
are present have been gored. Buffalo can weigh as much as
2,000 pounds and can sprint at 30 miles per hour; three times
faster than you can run. These animals may appear tame, but
are wild, unpredictable, and dangerous. Don not approach buffalo.
Bison (Bison bison), often referred to as buffalo, once numbered
in the millions in the West. After having been reduced nearly
to extinction at the turn of the century, they established
a stronghold in Yellowstone National Park,  Custer State Park
in South Dakota, and in a few other isolated places around
canyon country. In the annual rutting season, a ritual that
occurs in early August, males charge each other, banging heads
in competition. Always stay well out of a bison's way, especially
during rutting season.
Bison are more dangerous than they appear. Each year visitors
to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Custer State Park
in South Dakota, and Antelope Island and the Henry Mountains
of Utah, as well as in other localities, approach bison too
closely and are gored. People have been killed by these large
animals. All wildlife are unpredictable and dangerous. Do
not approach bison or any wildlife. If an animal reacts to
your presence, you are too close. |
