Buffalo

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Buffalo

At one time, bison were widespread from Alaska to northern Mexico. Now bison have been exterminated in the wild except in Yellowstone Park in Wyoming and Wood Buffalo Park, Northwest territory, Canada. The bison are gone in the prairie of the United States along with many of the ecosystem's species. Deep scars mar the landscape where the soil has been swept way by water runoff. The life of the rancher and farmer is vanishing.

The body of the bison is huge. They are also tall animals and have two distinctive features, one being the shoulder hump and the other being their huge head. They are brown, their color varying slightly from the front and back of the animal. Their horns are black and curve upward and inward ending in a sharp tip. Their legs are short but firm. Bison are year round grazers. They feed primarily on grasses, but when food is scarce, the will eat other vegetation such as sagebrush. They require water every day.

Females are sexually mature in two to three years . The breeding season begins in late June and lasts through September. Gestation is around 285 days, so the calving season in from mid-April through May. Bison are arranged in groups according to sex, age, season and habitat. Grazing takes place during several periods each day conducted in groups.

When bison travel, they form a line. Their traveling pattern is determined by the terrain and habitat condition. Bison! are good swimmers and runners. Bison can hear very well. They communicate vocally through grunts and snorts.

Bison were once a major source of meat and hides in the United States. Their population was once at 60 million. By 1890 the number was reduced to less than 1,000. Prior to the Civil War, hunters would trade and sell buffalo hide. Although they were killed for meat, their hide was in higher demand. The main reason the buffalo population declined was the industrial revolution. Buffalo hide was used as belts that would drive the machines in factories. Because of their depletion, interest in conservation and protection of wildlife caused a law to be passed who prohibited the hunting of wild animals.

The bison were considered sacred to some Indian tribes, such as the Lakota Sioux. They used the bison for food, clothing, shelter and spiritual sustenance. The bison flourished as once did the tribe's livelihood. Now, there are people as well as orga...

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...ey are opposed to bison because of their allegiance to cattle raising. However, Richard Manning, a Montana writer suggests the even a diehard cattle raiser may change their beliefs of buffalo raising. If we are to care for our land, Manning states, "Bison are better for the land than cows are".

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Society for Ecological Restoration 1996 Conference Abstracts Document. Ian Perkins. World Wide Web: nabalu.flas.ufl.edu/ser/Rutgers/Buffalo.html

Center for Bison Studies, MSU-Bozeman. "Current Literature on Culture, History, and Other Issues Regarding Bison". World Wide Web. January 8, 1997: www.montana.edu/wwwcbs/histlit.html. Articles by Popper, Deborah and Frank.

National Bison Association on the World Wide Web, 1997. www/nbabison.org.

The University of Michigan on the World Wide Web, 1997. www/oit.itd.umich.edu.

The Great Plains Buffalo Association on the World Wide Web, 1997. www.gpbuffalo.org.

Newsweek, May 29, 1995 from the World Wide Web Newsweek archives. Bringing Back the Buffalo, Fred DuBray.

Defenders Magazine. Manning, Richard. The Buffalo is Coming Back. Part One - Four, Winter 1995/96. World Wide Web: www.defenders.org/manning.html

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