They're introducing Ralphie VII at the CU game today.

[SteveSS]

I don't give a damn about football but I love Bison. When I take over the ranch I'd like to have some, if I afford all the fencing requirements. They love tearing stuff up just for the fun of it. The new Ralphie is just a baby at 700 pounds. I'm sure you know there is a dedicated team at CU that runs with the Bison. I've seen earlier Ralphies that shook off all its handlers.


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Size and Weight:​

American bison are the largest terrestrial mammals in North America. Male bison are significantly larger and heavier than females. A mature bull can reach 5.5 to 6.5 feet high at the hump and 9 to 12.5 feet in length. Whereas females typically measure 5 feet high at the hump and 7 to 10 feet in length. American bison can weigh 1,800 to 2,400 pounds.

A buffalo can run at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. They are also very agile and can jump over objects about 5 feet high.

 

[SlingLow]

I also love Bison. They're not nearly as fast when they're medium-rare, which is my preference.

 

[SteveSS]

When I was a kid we had a pretty great park and zoo for a town our size. In one section they had some Bison behind a 10' tall woven wire fence. Not two fences, just one between the bulls and the public. We were teasing the bull, just verbably not physically. In a split second that animal ripped a foot long opening with one horn. We shut up and left him alone.

 

[SteveSS]

That reminds me. My dad was the city manager. He had one of the Bison bulls slaughtered for what the local newspaper said, "Not doing his homework." Which meant he wasn't breeding. As you know about my early life as a cowboy, my dad put importance on such things with our herd animals. The meat was good. Leaner than normal beef.

 

[SteveSS]

One of the ways American Indians hunted Bison was to run them off a cliff then the Indians had spears with flint spear heads that were attached to hollow half shafts. They could stab the Bison's spinal cord then quickly fit on a new point. A rich oil man I knew in Wichita had a display case with a Bison spinal cord and every vertebra had a spear point embedded in it. I did a pen and ink of the process at the time. I could probably find it if I looked hard enough.