Buffalo The Great Animal Of The Plains.

Buffalo The Great Animal Of The Plains

Buffalos or bison are one of the beasts that used to freely roam the Wild West. They are one of the strongest and most powerful animals in North America. Millions once roamed the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Today they're far fewer and less common. Most buffaloes live in national parks and protected areas.

What Do Buffaloes Look Like?

Buffaloes are very large animals that sort of resemble a bull. They have a big hump on their back close to their shoulders. Buffaloes have large heads to fit their body. Male buffaloes are called bulls and females are called cows. A male's head appears much larger because of its long beard. An adult male Buffalo averages 11½ feet in length and stands about six feet tall from ground to hump. While females average a little smaller these very large creatures weigh around 2,000 pounds.

Changing With The Seasons

Buffalo go through several physical changes throughout the year. Their activities also change with the seasons. Buffalo fur is mostly dark brown with black patches; it is very thick and warm. To help during the cold nights in places like Wyoming where it can get to 40°F below zero. But when spring comes and it becomes warmer the buffaloes shed their thick coats. In the summer insects and fleas bother the buffalo to get rid of them, buffalo wallow- roll around in the dust and mud to smother the biting insects. In the fall the buffalo prepare for cold prairie winters. It summer coat turns dark and thick while the first layer is wooly to hold in the warmth.

In the 1700s, buffalo traveled in herds of thousands across the plains. In the late fall and winter the bison separate into smaller groups. The Cows and the calves- and the bulls. It is easier to find food this way. During the winter they separated many times in search of food. Today bison already travel in smaller groups in protected areas. But in the winter finding food is still challenging.

Migration

When the bison roamed the prairies in great numbers they developed a pattern of migration. Bison migrated during the year to find enough food. After migrating, bison would find and claim a range. Often Buffalo migrated to hills and mountains in the spring and summer. There they found plenty of food and water and the temperature was much cooler. In fall and winter the walked to lower prairies to find food. The prairies had less snow over the grasses and plants that the bison ate. During the winter they usually traveled one to two miles in search of food or water.

What Does A Buffalos Eat?

Buffaloes are herbivores they graze eating plants and herbs that grow on the ground. During the winter, piles of snow cover the grass so to find food the buffalo swings its huge head, hooves and nose back and fourth to brush the snow away.

After the buffalo has swallowed its food, it comes back up from its stomach and into its mouth. The buffalo chews it again and then swallows it again. This is called chewing cud, its almost like eating twice.

Young, Baby Buffaloes

Most buffaloes are born in May when the weather is warm. They are born with their eyes open and weigh between 30 and 70 pounds. Baby buffaloes are called calves. They can stand and suck from their mother and hour after being born. Calves are born with reddish yellow fur. Mother buffaloes are very protective of their young and keep them safe of predators. Buffalo calves stay close to their mother for this reason.

Native Americans And The Buffalo

Long ago, the buffaloes played an important part in the lives of the plains Indians. Buffaloes were an important part in their religion, food, shelter and clothing. Such tribes had great respect for the buffalo and although it was a food source they never killed a buffalo unless they needed to. When they did they used every part of the animal. They ate its meat, made needles, knives, and arrowheads from its bones and used its hide for clothing and teepees.

What Happened To All The Buffaloes?

Buffaloes almost became extinct but why? American settlers killed millions of the buffalos. Some were killed out of need to feed the workers building railroads in the west. Others were killed wrongly out of hate of the Native Americans who depended on the buffalo to survive.

The Buffaloes Return And A Look Towards The Future

People decided the buffaloes needed help they were endanger. Before the last few were killed the government passed a law protecting them. In 1980, land in Yellowstone National Park was set aside just for buffaloes. Four years latter hunting buffaloes in Yellowstone were against the law. In 1905 the American Bison Society was started to protect them. Today about 140,000 buffaloes live in the United States and Canada.

In recent years some people have hoped the bison will again roam the Great Plains. Since the bison can adapt to cold winters and hot summers in the West. They can survive on the prairie grasses that cattle do not like to eat and so with hope maybe there will be huge heads of buffalo on the western prairies again.