Buffalo Don't Exist

There is no such thing as a Buffalo. Well, in America, anyway.  We DO, however, have American Bison:

I've never heard this term before, but apparently the American Bison is "ecologically extinct."  Apparently that means that they no longer roam free over the entire middle of the United States.  (Yeah, so?  What does???  Does that mean the American Indian is also "ecologically extinct?"), and yet we can find ground buffalo meat for sale in Wal-Mart and buffalo burgers on restaurant menus.  Ecologically extinct.  How goofy.   

Well, trust me, there are a bunch of American Bison in Yellowstone, and it is very, very possible to get up close and personal with them - not very SMART, but definitely possible.

This is called a buffalo jam.  We got caught in one that was five miles long.  These guys can stand six feet tall and weigh up to 2,000 pounds.  They are not shy about having temper tantrums on a car or a tourist that irritates them.  See that guy squatting down maybe ten feet in front of that lead buffalo?  The park rangers won't do a thing about that fool.  There are signs everywhere explaining that these buffalo are WILD and unpredictable.  If a child is involved a ranger will intervene, but if you're past the age of accountability, you are on your own.  I don't care that buffalo have terrible eyesight;  they have excellent hearing and sense of smell.  They can also run 35 miles per hour.  That man doesn't stand a chance if the buffalo decides to go for him...

On this trip, we saw a buffalo start to cross the road and a big ol' RV wouldn't let him.  That buffalo backed off to the side and threw a HUGE tantrum!

Pretty cheeky, huh?

Notice the interior of our door jamb on the right side of the photo.  These guys walk so close to the car that we could reach out and touch them (and I think Granpa did!)

The last time we were in Yellowstone a couple of buffalo got into a fight right in front of the car.  There's always a car right on your bumper, so there is no place to go.  If you get hit, you get hit.  When the fight was over, there was buffalo fur all over the road.  Our grandsons boiled out of the van and scooped some up.  It's at home in our "nature" cabinet.

They are magnificent and amazing beasts.  I'm so very glad we have them - there are TENS OF THOUSANDS of them on preserves and private ranches all across our nation.  But there will never again be the 3 - 4 million that were here when Europeans arrived in the 16-1700's.