Bullfighting, North Dakota Style
From the National Wildlife Foundation web site: "This animal's true name is the
American bison, but most people call them buffalo. They are the largest
terrestrial animal in North America. They can be over 6 feet tall. A male
can weigh upwards of 2 tons and a female can weigh about 900 pounds.
Bison once dominated the grassland and prairie ecosystems of the United States.
When the first explorers came to the Great Plains, it is estimated that over 40
million bison roamed the land. By 1900, a little over 1,000 bison were left.
The head of a bison is very large with a
thick skull. They use their heads to fight by crashing into one another. Bison
also fight using their horns. Both male and female bison have short, curved, and
black horns. They can grow to 2 feet long. American bison like to live and
travel in groups. For most of the year, herds are divided by sex with females
and calves in one herd and males in another herd. When the breeding season
begins in the summer, many males temporarily join the female herd and begin
looking for a mate.
The dominant bulls (male bison) choose a female and defend her against other
males through fighting. The males might butt heads or use their horns. Once the
female agrees to mate, the pair mates several times. The cows (female
bison) are pregnant throughout the fall, winter and early spring. The calves are
born in mid-spring to increase the likelihood of surviving the next winter. Most
cows only have one offspring. Each calf weighs about 50 pounds and has reddish
fur. Within an hour after birth the calf stands and, soon after, begins to
walk."
We were only 50 feet or so away from these "bulls" who started fighting one another. When there heads collided, it sounded like someone slapping leather, hard! Neither of the beasts appeared to have been injured in the process and eventually separated. It was an impressive display of brute strength.
Here are two more bulls going at it.
