Bison2

"The buffalo is a timid creature, but brought to bay would fight with ferocity. There were few sights more terrifying to the novice
than the spectacle of an old bull at bay. His mighty bulk a quivering mass of active, enraged muscles; the shining horns, the
little spikey tail, and the eyes half-hidden beneath the shaggy frontlet, yet gleaming with rage. ..." —Ernest Thompson Seton

The story of the American bison is a bittersweet tale indeed.
Caught in a massive tug-of-war between the forces of nature and the forces of mankind, the majestic creature barely survived.

THE HISTORY OF THE BISON

represents an epic journey through geologic time, as the animal survived and adapted to changes that eradicated other species.
Then, late in the 19th century, during the last days of the 200 years man spent "settling the West," wild bison all but disappeared from this country's prairies and mountains. Directly or indirectly, man trimmed a population of 40 or 50 million large animals to a few hundred scattered survivors in only a few years. Ironically,
mankind had to mount a similar massive effort to bring the bison back from extinction.

Now, nearly a century later, perhaps 100,000 bison roam prairies and mountains in national parks and other public preserves or graze placidly in scattered private herds throughout the United States. The bison's place in modern America is finally balanced between civilization and wilderness.

The wild West has been tamed, but the bison remains a wild species in many cases. Today, the bison has become a symbol of the American West—the largest and oldest game animal in North America and the vestige of a way of life cherished but not completely understood.

For naturalist William T. Hornaday, the disappearance of the buffalo seemed an inevitable result of the advance of civilization. "To the early pioneers who went forth to carve the way in the wilderness, to wrestle with nature for the necessities of life," Hornaday once wrote, "this valuable animal seemed like a gift direct from the hand of providence."

Whatever the reason, the bison always has been—and still is—a source of inspiration. Throughout history, the species has proved spiritually intriguing, materially useful, and politically obstructive. The saga of the bison has swung like a pendulum between survival in nature and domination by man.

The image of the bison inspires feelings of genetic timelessness and physical dynamism. In silhouette, the head hangs low, with black horns curving up and in.
A blocky, powerful neck accentuates the hump, a mass of bone and muscle that supports the weight of the great head. Long black hair hangs in a "bonnet" at
the top of the head. A cape of brown sweeps from the hump through the forequarters. A much shorter pelage covers the slim rear quarters and tail.

As in other cloven-hooved animals, the upper jaw con¬tains no front teeth. The eyes, set far apart, emit a reddish glow. The tongue is blackish, and the ears are buried in the pelage. Black hooves leave a circular print, and the tail is short with a tufted tip. Mature bulls weigh about 1,800 pounds and stand as high as six feet at the hump. Cows typically weigh as much as 1,000 pounds and stand perhaps five feet at the hump.

In motion, bison exhibit tremendous power and sur¬prising speed. Short front legs, front quarters "deep up and down," and hind legs "cut high in the flanks" are designed "to run fast and a long ways”—at least according to many historic accounts. Oldtimers would josh that "the buffalo could eat breakfast in Texas, dinner in Oklahoma, and supper in Kansas." And when stampeding, the buffalo was known to "out wind a good horse and outrun him after one mile."

While the western way of life saw bison and horse compete in speed and endurance, the everyday habits of the bison on the range evoked a more common com¬parison. One frontier account found the bison to be "rather sluggish, mild, inoffensive, and dull." To some, the bison had a boring daily routine. He would "eat in the morning, late afternoon, and at dusk, chew cud in repose during the day, sleep quietly at night, remindful of the gentle routine of farm cattle."

But the commonly stolid behavior of the bison can be deceptive. This beast with an apparently peaceful demeanor can leap or bust through a six-foot fence if it chooses. When migrating, it can ford ice-choked rivers dur¬ing the spring break-up. And during the rut, one-ton bulls smash heads brutally in a way decidedly unlike the average milk cow.

The bison has an acute sense of smell, which it uses in preference to vision and hearing. Historical accounts credit the bison with the ability to distinguish a horse with rider from a riderless horse from as far as a mile away. Even though, as early naturalists noted, the bison could detect the faint sound of a twig crackling underfoot from a distance of 500 feet, the animal would seldom flee unless it caught the scent of danger. The bison is also curious, often paus¬ing after a first dash away to turn and face the source of the disturbance.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Yes, the "bison" and the "buffalo" are the same critter. Actually, bison is the scientific name for buffalo. The bison is a member of the bos family, related to bovines such as domestic cattle, but distinct from the true buffalo, those of Asia and Africa. The term buffalo was first used by English settlers. It was a modification of the name "les boeufs" which early French explorers gave to oxen or beef cattle. The first Spanish explorers referred to bison as cattle, using such names as "vacas de tierra" or cows of the country. Usage of the term buffalo, evolving through variations such as "boffle," "buffler," and "buffilo," became predominant about 1845.

THE GREAT HERDS

The Great Plains nurtured the great herds. Naturalists will always marvel at the sheer mass of the "endless" herds of bison.

But bison were, nevertheless, at the mercy of the natural elements. Harsh winters, drought, and fire not only trimmed the herds but changed behavior patterns. Bison established traditional ranges and routes to reach those ranges—usually, but not always, returning year after year to selected winter ranges. When the herds failed to return—disasters aptly noted by Indian and white hunters alike—it caused human hardship, as a source of winter food unexpectedly disappeared.

The bison is a gregarious animal, forming strong bonds with other members of its herd. The size of the herds varies, primarily with the season, reflecting the rut or the winter-range requirements. The herds placidly graze a wide area, traveling in a daily radius of one or two miles or farther, depending on the proximity of water. A stampede could, of course, rapidly increase the radius.

From late fall to spring, bison separate into cow-calf and older-bull groups. The two types of herds intermingle throughout the year, drifting together for a time, and then splitting again.

Dominance, not territory, rules the bison society. Older bulls usually lead bull groups, while mature cows head cow-calf groups. The leaders exercise only a loose control that is most evident when the herd is on the move. During the rut, the two groups stay together for most of the summer, with cows leading the mixed herds as often as bulls.

Leadership of bison herds takes several forms. During severe disturbances, a single animal may initiate movement at the front of the entire group by heading in one direction at a steady walk. During mass group movements, such as grazing, the herd often will move without an obvious leader. Dominant animals may even be positioned in the center or rear of the group, imperceptibly directing travel by shoving and butting other members of the herd before them. Any mature animal might lead a stampede.

The gregarious nature of the bison can lead to a spec¬tacular show offeree during stampedes. In addition to real danger, subtle sounds—the snapping of a twig, another animal bounding through high brush, or a close swoop from a flock of migrating birds—can trigger a stampede. And rather than charging wildly and aimlessly, the stampede usually heads for a protected destination, such as a stand of trees or a secluded meadow, to escape the danger, real or perceived.

A stampede may start without any apparent fuss or clamor. A startled buffalo or a wary group spooks, then randomly closes on the flanks of a nearby group, which in turn stirs, creating a chain reaction. The placid, uncoordinated grazing groups transform into a large, rushing mass.

The stampede may end after only a brief dash. But if the stampede continues, the first animals to bolt may get lock¬ed into their place at the front, unable to get out of the way as the rolling mass crushes all obstacles. Indian hunters knew that in a confined space, such as the V-shaped stone chutes leading to the cliffs of the buffalo jumps, oipishkuns, there could be no stopping the animals.

The monstrous stampedes captured in historical art probably were the result of prairie fire, severe weather, or even a noisy approach by hunters. But the spectacle of a stampede that runs over anything and everything in its way is not the exclusive domain of yesteryear. Naturalist Tom McHugh has witnessed a "directionless. . .aimless" stampede of about 150 buffalo on the National Bison Range in Montana. When a hailstorm covered the ground with stones as large as marbles, the herd quickly massed and repeatedly galloped in tight, quarter-mile circles.

THE YEAR OF THE BISON

With the onset of winter, after the rigors of the rut in summer and early fall, bison spend more and more time grazing, sometimes forsaking the walk to water by eating snow. Little time is devoted to the scratching, napping, and rolling so popular in warmer months. The cow-calf groups (ranging from 20 to 70 animals) and the smaller bull groups (5 to 20 animals) seek bare ground for feeding and standing.

In winter, bison feed on exposed grass, clipping it down to near the level of the snow. In deeper snow, the bison use their necks, heads and horns, swinging from side to side to push snow away and then shoving deeper with their noses to clear a trench down to the feed. Using this method, bison can feed in snow four feet deep.

Bison have a remarkable ability to withstand extreme winter weather. Their thick coats and layers of fat provide ample insulation.
Herds generally move into the wind to avoid suffocating in the drifting snow that piles up against any shelter. In a blizzard, bison huddle together for warmth.
The pelage molt occurs in late winter or early spring, as the bison moves off its winter range. The new growth is short, stiff, and dark brown. Tattered patches of bleached winter hair may cling to the capes and pantaloons on the forequarters into the summer, at times creating an almost grotesque appearance.

The rut begins as early as the end of June and continues into September. As bulls pursue cows, the dominance hierarchy of the herd becomes increasingly evident. It is established either passively or aggressively. Passive dominance does not involve any obvious force or threat. The dominant bull approaches other bulls, which move away. Aggression occurs when one bull challenges another which, in turn, refuses to back down.

A bull may signal his intent merely by looking toward the challenger. Sometimes that is enough to discourage the contender. Swinging his horns toward the challenger means the action is getting more serious and sometimes results in mild contact.

If these calmer warnings don't work, the bull or his challenger may begin bellowing, snorting, pawing, rolling in a wallow, or prancing and shaking his pantaloons. If threats such as short charges or shaking the head do not resolve the conflict, a vicious battle may ensue. The bulls charge and collide, head to head. The noisy, dusty contest continues until one bull backs down.

As the dominance hierarchy among the bulls is established, cows and bulls begin the tending bond, in which the bull stays alongside or behind a cow at a close distance, perhaps one to five feet, and sometimes touching. Tending pairs usually occupy the edges of the bison group, without actually separating from the herd.

Typically, weaker bulls yield the tending bond to domi¬nant bulls without actual physical contact. After yielding, bulls often seek out wallowing areas, pounding and roll¬ing on the mostly bare ground to work out their frustration.

At the end of the rut, the bison herd separates into cow-calf and bull groups. They travel to winter ranges. The pelage thickens once again, ready for the harshness of winter. The year of the bison starts anew.

THE CHANGING HUNT

The relationship between bison and man began in prehistoric times. Early man hunted bison and patterned their life and culture around the materials and images provided by the most plentiful large animal of the American grasslands.

On the Great Plains, Indian tribes moved their villages along the fringes of the bison herds, depending on the animal for their subsistence. As bison moved onto the open plains during the temperate months and then retreated back to broken, sheltered valleys and wooded areas in winter, the Indians followed, altering their hunting methods to match the terrain.

One early technique required Indians to approach the great herds on foot, under camouflage, and carrying bow and arrows, lances, and clubs. Another method called the "surround" had hunters encircling a herd of bison, then run¬ning afoot to slowly close the circle, all the while frighten¬ing the animals with shouting noises and flapping robes. When the surround had tightened enough to bring the prey within shooting distance, the Indians loosed their arrows and lances, bringing down the bison at the outer edges of the herd.

Also common was the "pound," a technique used for hunting in wooded areas. Indians built corralled enclosures with six-or-eight-foot high piles of rocks, wood, and brush, chased bison into the traps, and then used their weapons to kill the animals at close quarters.

But perhaps the most glorified method was the use of the "buffalo jump" or pishkun. Hunters stampeded herds of bison over cliffs or bluffs up to 250 feet high, at the foot of which was a corral or pen to trap and finish off with clubs, spears, knives, and arrows the frenzied bison not killed in the leap. Buffalo jumps were located near areas where the herds frequently grazed. When the Indians found a good runway to a cliff, they rolled boulders or piled small stones at intervals leading to it. The Indians crouched behind the stones, then popped up and startled the bison into stampeding over the precipice.

The Indians usually used every part of the bison for their material and spiritual needs. At times Indians did overhunt killing thousands in a single foray. Running the bison over the jumps often resulted in overkill. At other times, when the bison wandered to unknown ranges, Indians faced starvation.

The importance of the bison in the lives of the early hunters can hardly be overstated. It was a central feature of Indian culture. The Plains Indians wove the material importance of the bison into their spiritual beliefs and ceremonies. Some tribes called the bison "Besha," or the great heaven-sent source of most of the necessities of life. The Crow Indians' word for the bison bull was "cherapa " the word of reverence. Other tribes attributed special qualities to this essential animal, such as an ability to emanate from beneath the ground.

Around 1700, the horse became part of the Indian culture and helped tribes not only to extend the range of their nomadic life, but to increase success in hunting. In the 1870s, after the Plains Indians had been taming horses for almost two centuries, they embraced the repeating rifle as a hunting weapon. The rifle displaced the bow and arrow and also improved the Indians' ability to kill bison.

Even with these changes in Indian hunting methods and weapons, the enormous herds of plains bison were never threatened with extinction. However, the bison that inhabited the Rocky Mountains and extended into the Columbian plateau of the Pacific Northwest were less numerous. A combination of severe winters and heavy hunting by Indians nearly exterminated them before 1800. Thus, a classic period for the Plains Indian began in about 1700 with the introductions of the horse and came to an end in the late 1800s. The settlement of the West by the white man doomed both the free-ranging bison herds and the nomadic life of the Plains Indians.

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The Great Plains'
Natural Wonders and Environment:
The American Bison!