BISON HISTORY

The bison (buffalo) herd at Zapata Ranch, is located on the north end of the ranch on the Medano, one 44,000+ acre pasture. The 2,000 head bison are managed as a wild herd, meaning that they are managed as close as possible to how they existed before modern man arrived on the scene - no branding, vaccinations or weaning. Bison are gathered once a year and a limited number are sold as natural bison meat.

HISTORY of the BISON in NORTH AMERICA

The North American Plains Bison, once numbered over 50 million in the mid 1800’s. At the turn of the century, bison, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, grizzly bear, and the wolf had nearly been hunted to the brink of extinction. By the late 1800’s there were only about a thousand bison left in the world and an estimated 100-500 in the wild, and the wolf was gone.

Through the bold efforts of concerned citizens, the bison were protected on private and federal lands. Bison numbers have rebounded in recent times, nearly 500,000 are in existence today. Few people are aware that there are two kinds of bison in North America, the plains bison and the wood bison. The wood bison are larger and darker than the plains bison and tend to live in the wooded areas of Canada. According to a 1990 count, there are around 1,000 wood bison left today.

PLAINS BISON

Bison historically roamed from coast to coast. At one time, their numbers were the greatest on the Great Plains from Canada to Mexico. It is estimated that over 50 million bison lived on the plains at that time.

An average herd size of bison is typically 20-50 animals led usually by one female(cow). The male bison (bulls) begin to spend time alone or in groups ranging from 2-40, as they mature, rejoining the herd only for breeding.
The bulls have a much larger body than the cow, weighing up to a ton full grown.

The females are much smaller, at around 4 to 5 ft and weigh only about 900 - 1,200 lbs. The cows have a smaller head and shorter curved horns. Bison typically live an average of 20 years, females typically live the longest.

The bison usually congregate in large numbers in the fall and winter as they migrate from meadow to meadow or from the meadows to the uplands in the northern end of the ranch.

Plentiful meadows bubbling springs, creeks, lakes and a raging seasonal creek called Sand Creek create a home rich in forage, for the bison herd. Spring run-off floods a good portion of the ranch as snow melts in the high mountains. The traditional range of the bison most likely extended onto the Zapata, as herds drifted in from the south end of the San Luis Valley. Remains as old as 10,000+ years, have been discovered here.

MATING SEASON

The bulls re-join the herds in mid July for the “rut” or mating season. The bulls wander through the females bellowing and scraping the ground, and chasing the younger, less dominate bulls away. The mature bulls sometimes fight a deadly battle over control of the cow herd. Several “wallows or bull holes” can be found on the ranch where the males roll and scrape the ground in an effort to mark their territories. The rest of the herds use these wallows to cover them selves in dirt as protection from heat and insects.

SPRING CALVING

A cow bison carries her baby for around nine months. The herds tend to have their calves in a concentrated time period as the long awaited spring grasses pop up. The cows leave the herd instinctively to find a hiding spot to have their calf. The cows are excellent mothers, not only for their calf but for all the calves in the herd. The calves are often positioned in the center of the herd and are closely monitored by their aunts and cousins within the herd.

WINTER

In the winter, the search for good winter forage draws the bison together in larger herds. They move between the higher country and the meadows looking for the best forage. Large strings of bison can be seen across almost a quarter of the pasture when the entire herd is moving.

GRASSLAND COMMUNITY

The bison herds are often accompanied by a few coyotes. The coyotes are not a concern to the bison as a predator; they primarily hunt the rabbits and rodents that are stirred from their hiding spots as the bison graze. The raptors act in much of the same fashion as the coyotes.

CONSERVATION GOALS

As bison were nearly eradicated, their gene pool was severely depleted as a result. Through the efforts of state, local, private and federal organizations, an effort has been mounted since the early 1900’s to restore the bison to a sustainable population.
At the turn of the 19th century people began crossing bison with cattle in an effort to mix the best of two worlds. The result has been debated ever since, and the trend has declined in popularity in recent times. The idea of a conservation herd has moved to the forefront in an effort to maintain a “pure” bison herd of pure genetic and behavioral standards. In the last few years several organizations have banded together to test, the bison herds in North America for their genetic purity.

FALL GATHER and SALES

Each November bison are gathered into the large holding traps surrounding the corrals, where they will be processed. Strays are gathered horseback until the majority of the animals are gathered. This process takes about 3 weeks. Once the buffalo are in the pens they are sent through the chutes and released as soon as possible. In the chute, a hair sample is removed to check the DNA status of the animal, and a tag is placed in their ear to identify them later.

Two year old bulls and non pregnant two year old cows are sold for meat to households. This meat has not been exposed to the commercial feedlots that most other bison have been exposed to and also do not receive any antibiotics, growth hormones, or supplemental feeds. Bison meat has gained a reputation as a leaner, “healthier “meat, that is rich in protein and omega-3 essential fatty acids.

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