Big Bone Lick

PBS’ Nature Series includes American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation.  Here is a brief introduction:

Buffalo were the lords of the prairie.  To European settlers traveling across America’s Great Plains in the early 1800s, the prairie wind was a constant companion: a gentle whisper echoing across the vast sea of grass that carpeted the center of the North American continent.

Sometimes, however, the rumbling of thunder could be heard in the distance, though no storm clouds could be seen.  Then the ground would begin to tremble, and suddenly the astonished newcomers would be surrounded by a thundering herd of hulking animals that stretched further than the eye could see.  The majestic welcoming committee made it clear that the settlers had, at last, arrived in the buffalo nation — a land where tens of million of American Bison held sway.

The NATURE program American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation tells the sad story of how the buffalo nation was destroyed nearly a century ago by greed and uncontrolled hunting — and how a few visionaries are working today to rebuild the once-great bison herds.  It offers a remarkable portrait of America’s last significant wild bison herd, made up of a few thousand animals living within Montana’s Yellowstone National Park.  And it highlights the efforts of Native American leaders dedicated to bringing back the animal that once gave life to their tribes.

Episode Introduction
Order the Video from PBS

The bison population in Yellowstone National Park continues to rebound after a massive die-off in the herd two winters ago.  More than 1,600 Yellowstone bison were killed in 2008 as they attempted to migrate to lower elevations in Montana in search of food.

The summer 2009 population show 3,300 bison, including 2,800 adult and yearling bison and 500 calves.  That’s up from a total of 2,900 bison at the end of last winter.

Animal control official capture and slaughter bison who leave Yellowstone park to prevent the spread of the disease brucellosis, which can cause pregnant animals to miscarry.  Unchecked, the disease can be devastating to the cattle industry.

Story at FoxNews
More National Park News

Before the European settlers in America pushed westward, tens of millions of bison roamed the American landscape.  Their range spanned almost the entire United States, with the heaviest concentration in the Great Plains.  Bison congregated in massive herds.  Native Americans hunted the bison on a limited scale for food, clothing and materials.

But in the 1700s, the arrival of white men with .50-caliber rifles and riding on horses started the bison’s demise in North America.  The combination of efficient hunting methods and a growing demand for buffalo hides resulted in the “Great Slaughter” from 1820 to 1880.  The bison population dropped from 30 million to just over a thousand by 1890.

With bison extinction imminent, Theodore Roosevelt and William Hornaday formed the American Bison Society in 1905 to ensure the species’ survival.  The Bronx Zoo and Yellowstone National Park established bison preserves, and the federal government created the National Bison Range in Montana.

Ironically, commercial breeding had a greater impact boosting bison numbers than conservation, and today more than 95 percent of bison are privately owned.  In the 1970s, ranchers started breeding bison for the niche meat market.  Thanks to growing demand, there are around 400,000 commercial bison living in the United States.

Read the entire article at HowStuffWorks

T. David had a chance to visit Big Bone Lick State Park and was pleasantly surprised to discover a herd of bison.  The bison are part of an effort to ensure their continued existence in the United States.  These magnificent beasts once ruled the prairie, but indiscriminate hunting reduced their numbers to less than 1000.  Through conservation efforts and "captive" herds, such as the one at Big Bone Lick State Park, bison are no longer an endangered species.

For more great bison photos, check out T. David’s collection of photos of “The Bison Bunch.”

There’s a good reason the bison are kept in a gated area at Big Bone Lick State Park…

For the second time this year, a bison attacked a tourist at Yellowstone National Park.  On Wednesday around 11:30am, a 55-year-old California man was taking pictures of a bull bison that had wandered into the Bridge Bay Campgrounds.  The two were about 10 feet apart when the bison charged.

The man sustained a “puncture wound” to his upper thigh.  He was treated at Lake Clinic then transported to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming.  His injuries are not life threatening.

Earlier this summer, a bison tossed a 50-year-old woman from Spain into the air.  She was talking on a pay phone at the time.

Bull bison can stand six feet tall, weigh up to 2,000 pounds, and run up to 30 miles an hour.  Bison can and will attack humans at any time, with or without provocation.  Bison are especially dangerous during the next few weeks because it’s their mating season. 

Yellowstone Park regulations require that visitors remain at least 25 yards away from most animals, and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves.  Tourists who violate this rule can face a citation and fine, or of course an animal attack.

Story at Local News 8

Melissa is a homeschool mom to three beautiful children ages 12, 10, and 3.  They use Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophies of learning the natural, everyday hands-on life way.  They especially enjoy learning and growing together beyond the classroom doors in God’s amazing creation in nature.

On Wednesday they went on a very fun field trip with some of the other families from their co-op to Big Bone Lick State Park.  Their naturalist guide taught the kids three different sessions on bison, animal tracks, and survival in the wild.

Melissa was surprised to learn that bison are quite dangerous.  They do not like anyone or anything in their territory and will quickly charge to eliminate it.  And the fact that they can weigh up to a ton, run 40 mph (humans can’t run that fast, even Olympics competitors), and can leap over 6 feet, she wouldn’t want to get in their space.  Bison are primarily all muscle, and that is how they are so powerful.

 See more photos on Melissa’s blog

Jana took a bunch of nice photos of the winter foliage and buffalo at Big Bone Lick State Park.  Check out Jana’s entire photo set.

Check out the the Big Bone Lick photo galleries at the Cincinnati Enquirer:

In this Enquirer photo by Patrick Reddy, a herd of 17 bison roams a new 40-acre pasture at Big Bone Lick State Park.  The herd includes a 2,200 pound bull and three calves.  The herd was moved from an 18-acre plot that had been its home for about 15 years.

Big Bone Lick Bison photo gallery

Big Bone Lick gallery #2