"It is now the season at which the buffaloe begin to coppelate and the bulls keep up a tremendous roaring-we could hear them for many miles and there are such numbers of them that there is one continuous roar."
"It is now the season at which the buffaloe begin to coppelate and the bulls keep up a tremendous roaring-we could hear them for many miles and there are such numbers of them that there is one continuous roar."
The word buffalo has come to represent,"life on the plains." American plains buffalo, even as the smaller of the two species, are enomous animals. The males, called bulls, grow to be about six feet tall, and eleven feet long. Their average weight is two thousand pounds, but have been known to weigh as much as three thousand pounds. The females, called cows, are generally smaller. Their average weight is between seven hundred and fifty, and one thousand one hundered pounds, and they are usually about five feet tall and less than ten feet long.
Both the male and female Plains buffalo have long, thick brownish-black hair on their heads, necks, and humps. This hair forms a beard at their chins, hanging down as long as twelve inches on the bulls. The hair that covers the rest of the Plains buffalo is grayish-brown and shorter. Every spring these buffalo shed their furry coats and grow new ones. The two most noticable parts of the buffalo's body are its hump and its horns. The hump is solid muscle and is needed to support the animal's heavy head. It is also the source of much of the buffalo's strength.
These animals do not see moving objects very sharply, and they barely see objects that are standing still at all. On the other hand, the buffalo's senses of hearing and smell are excellent. Buffalo do not travel alone. When a herd is grazing they are spread out in groups of ten or twenty overy miles of grassy plains. Unlike humans, buffalo don't have to chew their food will the first time they swallow. Instead, they munch on it a little and then store it in a part of their stomach. Later in the day, the buffalo bring it up to chew again. Buffalo also spend a lot of time fighting off pesty insects. To do this they roll in shallow ponds. This coats their hair with cool mud, which dries to form an armor against bugs.
Native American uses for the buffalo
| Meat | Food |
| Hide | Blankets, Tepees, Art Work |
| Organs | Pots |
| Dung | Fuel for the fire |
| Horns | Tools and Jewelry |
| Fur | Blankets and Clothing |
| Hooves | Containers |
| Bladder | Tools |
| Overview | Buffalo | Piasa Bird | Nez Perce | Cahokia Mounds |
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