The American Bison (Bison bison) is one of those animals that doesn’t seem to get the admiration or respect that other large animals command. Brown Bears, Moose and Elk are adored by the masses. White-tailed Deer are prized, and Black Bears are respected and yet it seems the Bison is just tolerated, kind of like you might tolerate your strange uncle that comes to a family gathering.
Bison are the national mammal of America, and it seems rather fitting. The Bison has a significant historical, cultural and ecological importance and does a great job at representing the strength of America. This critter has gone from being one of the most numerous animals in America in pre-settlement times, to being at the brink of extinction and is now rebounding. It has an important conservation success story to tell and a good lesson to learn.
The American Bison is the largest land mammal in North America. This was painfully obvious to me while I was recently filming and taking pictures of some Bison in Teddy Rosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The males where rutting and tending very closely to some females. Looking through my camera lens brings the animal up close and personal and really drives home the fact that the males are absolutely huge.
An adult male can stand over six feet tall at the shoulder and are 10 to 11 feet in length. Females and young males are much smaller, but an adult male can weigh over 2,000 pounds (one ton). The record heaviest bison weighed over 3,800 pounds. Despite their massive size, they are super-fast and can even outrun a horse, reaching 35 mph and jump over six feet high. This is definitely not an animal to trifle with. I was following one particular large bull when I noticed he wanted to cross a road. The sides of the highway had the standard metal guard rail, which is only about three feet tall, but this bull didn’t even break stride and cleared the rail in one clean jump and kept going.
Bison are considered ecosystem engineers, similar as the Prairie Dog that I wrote about last time. The bison don’t just graze, they shape the environment around the areas where they roam. Moving around the Bison encourages a wide variety of plants to grow by grazing for a short time before moving onto another area.
They are one of the few species where both the males and females have horns. Just a reminder, horns are different from antlers. Horns are permanent structures on the animal’s head and are composed of keratin, compared to antlers which are made mostly of calcium and are regrown each year.
I was out filming a herd of Bison which contained several very large males, all who where rutting. During the breeding season, the males go around and check in with females. They smell the female to determine if she is near the optimal time to be bred. As the males wander around, they sound off with a deep and resounding bellow. These bellows are very loud and sound like a cross between a lion’s roar and a Black Bear’s growl. The low wave frequency of the bellow travels well across the open ground. I happen to notice the sides of the Bison vibrating with each bellowing call, just where the ribs are located, so much that the dirt and dust in the male’s fur vibrated right out into the air. It was truly impressive sight to see and something I would never know about or understand if I wasn’t spending so much time observing and filming.
We should celebrate our American Bison because it’s truly a unique American animal. By the way, I hope you noticed that I never called them Buffalo. This is because they are not a type of Buffalo. Also, Saturday Nov 1st, is National Bison Day and Awareness Day. This day of celebration is the first Saturday in November each year. Until next time…
Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to capture video and images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website at www.naturesmart.com.
