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The North American Bison are mammals. That means the female produces milk to feed their baby; the animal has a vertebrae (spine or backbone); hair covers their skin. In fact, bison are the largest land mammal in North America. They are not related to the Water Buffalo animal that is found in Asia, nor are they related to Cape Buffalo found in Africa. They are related to the bison that is in Europe that is called a Wisent, and the Woods Bison that is found in Canada. Bison migrated from Siberia into Alaska and have lived in North America for at least 300,000 years. Although many people think of the Wild West when they think about Bison, they actually once roamed from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains. Today they live in all 50 of the United States.
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 In the 17th century, French travelers, exploring North America, referred to these never seen before animals as “les Boeufs” meaning oxen. Over time, the pronunciation became “la buff”. Changes in the name continued and at times they were called buffele, buffler, buffillo and in time the name buffalo remained. In the United States songs, books and movies have long featured this majestic animal, by the Buffalo name. The bison’s nickname, buffalo, will forever be embedded in our American history.
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|   Watching how the buffalo act towards one another is very interesting. The herd looks after each other. Rarely will they leave one animal behind. Instead they will encourage the animal to stay with the group. When there is danger, the cows will circle around the young animals to protect them. The adult animals teach the young animals how to behave and remind them to respect the adults. Often you see animals that are 1 or 2 years old looking after babies while the moms take a break.
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   BULL - Adult Male CALF - Baby COW - Adult female | Mature Weight 1800 - 2500LB Birth Weight 35 - 50LB Mature Weight 900 - 1200LB | Usually stands taller than 6 feet high Stands within 10 min. after birth Usually stands 5 feet tall | Reaches breeding maturity at 2 yrs old Walk/run within an hour Has first calf at 3 yrs old | Fully grown at 7-9 yrs old Weighs 350-550LB when 6 They are pregnant fer 9 mo | Thick mane acts like a shock months old It is not unusual that they have | absorber when bulls fight to be Get milk from their mom until babies when they are 20 yrs old | the leader they are 6 to 12 months old They are very protective mothers |
 
A group of Buffalo is called a herd. Both male and females have horns. The horns start to develop from the time they are born and continue to grow slowly until they are adults. Their horns are permanent. Buffalo use their horns for protection, in the winter digging through the snow to get food and in the summer dig in dirt to make dust to roll in which helps to keep the bugs away. All Bison, male and females, have humps on their back. The humps are made of muscle to hold up their large heads. The hump begins to develop while they are calves. The size of their hump when they are adults prevents them from completely rolling over. Females usually have their first calf when they are 3 years old and continue to have one calf each year. They will have 20 or more calves in their lifetime. Twins are very rare. Buffalo eat grass for nutrition. Some farmers also feed them grain. Buffalo need water every day. Though they appear friendly, they are wild animals and you should always be very careful when you are near them.
     - Fur on hides were used for coats, blankets and other bedding
- Hides were also used to record events through painting pictures on them to document history & traditions
- Buffalo hair was used to make pillows, inside moccasins, and ropes
- The leather was used for many things including tepee covers, drums and clothing
- Horns were carved into arrow points, cups, spoons, tools and toys
- Bones were also used for tools, arrowheads and sharpened for knives
- Teeth were used as ornaments, jewelry any toys
- Skulls were used in ceremonies worshipping the buffalo
- Hooves were saved to make rattles, wind chimes or ground to make glue
- Tails made great fly swatters, brushes and whips
- Fat, that is located outside of the meat, was used for soap and grease
- Buffalo chips (dung) when dry were used as an excellent source of fuel for fires
- Sinew & Muscle were put to use creating items like tread, arrow ties and bow strings
Infomation provided by Minnesota Buffalo Assoc. | |
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