American Bison
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Native Land | North American Plains |
| Average Weight | 1500 lb | |
| Average Height | 6 ft | |
| Diet |
Native to North American plains and grassland areas, Bison were considered a symbol of plenty and a focus of the Native American's way of life, providing them food, clothing and shelter as well as a sense of culture.
The American buffalo is not a true buffalo, but still it is related to the European Bison. It is a majestic symbol of the pioneering spirit, a part of our collective heritage. Once the dominant animal of North American plains areas, having roamed the land in herds of tens of thousands. Between 1830-1860 the Bison almost reached extinction from over hunting.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt established preserves for them and with the assistance from early conservationists and ranchers, public and private herds continue to be maintained throughout the United States and Canada.
This massive creature is no longer in danger of becoming extinct. The bison is a curious, playful and intelligent animal that is able of surviving extreme climate changes and brutally cold winters. Mature cows can reach up to 1,000 pounds, while bulls can reach 2,000 lbs. and 6 ft. at shoulder height
Other facts about the Bison:
Highly resistant to disease
Tender meat, high in protein and nutrients, low in fat calories and cholesterol
Raised with no growth stimulants, hormones, or sub-therapeutic antibodies
Experts believe the bison's ancestors to have originated in Asia about 200,000 years ago during the Ice Age, having crossed the land bridge connecting Asia to Alaska where the Bearing Strait now flows.
Pre-historic bison weighed @ 5,000lbs. with a horn span of @ 6 feet; compared with today's bison weighing 2,000 lbs. whose horn span is only half that of its predecessor.
Man’s first recorded contact with bison is noted as occurring between 11,000 and 25,000 years ago, when hunted by nomadic Indian tribes
The second Spanish explorer to America, Alvar Munez Cabaza de Vaca, noted to have seen a buffalo in the new world wrote the following description in 1530:
"To my judgement, the flesh (of Bison) is finer and sweeter than half that of this country (Spain). The Indians make blankets of those that are not full grown, and of the larger they make shoes and buckles.”
An estimated 30 – 200 million bison were said to have roamed the great plains from the 1700’s – early 1800’s, averaging 60 million
Bison remains have been excavated by archeologists in Mexico, Northern Canada, Florida, California and Virginia
Slaughter of the Bison began in the late 1800’s with Bison being killed for reasons of making money from hides and tongues. Wearing Bison robes or eating Bison meat became a status symbol, indicating you were someone.
The Kansas and pacific Railroad also encouraged the slaughtering by mounting and shipping heads to the East, it promoted tours of live buffalo and for the mere cost of ten dollars anyone could buy the opportunity killing one of these amazing creatures. Trips were planned and the guns and ammunition provided to shoot from open train windows. They stopped only when the bullets were gone.
General Sheridan, commander of the United States Army, referring to the avocation of wholesale slaughter prompted by the general during the Indian Wars, said:
“The buffalo
hunter did more in five years to defeat the Indian nations than
the army could do in fifty.”
