Home, Home on the Range by TwoPynts

Photography • Animals • posted on May 04, 2006

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Description

" Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam Where the deer and the antelope play Where seldom is heard a discouraging word And the skies are not cloudy all day." -traditional cowboy song, author unknown

Well, the skies still might not be cloudy all day, but the view has certainly changed. For the better? That's debatable. Trees for fences, mountains for water towers, the buffalo (and man) no longer ranges on that wide open plane. The march of progress is unrelenting, but progress towards what? Away from what? So that I we can be fenced in on all sides by a sea of humanity and our noses in a pile of poop? Watch your step fellow cowpokes, watch your step... ----- American Bison A bovine mammal that is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America, and one of the largest wild cattles in the world. With their huge bulk, wood bison, which are the largest subspecies in North America, are only surpassed in size by the massive Asian gaur and wild water buffalo, both of which are found mainly in India. The bison inhabited the Great Plains of the United States and Canada in massive herds, ranging from the Great Slave Lake in Canada's far north to Mexico in the south, and from eastern Oregon almost to the Atlantic Ocean, taking its subspecies into account. Its two subspecies are the Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), distinguished by its flat back, and the Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae), distinguished by its large humped back. The Bison is also commonly known as the American Buffalo, although it is only distantly related to either the Water Buffalo or African Buffalo. Bison were hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century and were reduced to a few hundred individuals by the mid-1880s, from which all the present day's managed herds are descended. One major cause was that hunters were paid by large railroad concerns to destroy entire herds. As few as 750 bison existed in 1890. The Bronx Zoo maintained a captive herd, some of which was transported in the early 20th century to Yellowstone National Park to bolster its faltering indigenous herd (which poaching had reduced to a few dozen animals), joining with transplants from other wildlife preserves. Some of these came from Charles Goodnight's ranch in the Texas Panhandle. A variety of privately-owned herds have also been established, starting from this population. The current American Bison population has been growing rapidly and is estimated at 350,000, but this is compared to an estimated 60

Comments (36)

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Zacko

11:24AM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Did you paste that buffalo in there? If so you did an amazing job, because i cant tell. Such an exceptional display of contrast though. Have a great one. #:O)...edit...because i just saw your thumb...BRILLIANT!!!!!!!

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TwoPynts

11:28AM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Nope, not pasted in. Part of a private herd in the Villages, FL. And thanks. ;^] *

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Digimon

11:37AM | Thu, 04 May 2006

That's not poop! That's just yesterdays lunch! Great juxtaposition of "Wild" animals in a human setting! Makes one appreciate just how far things have changed in 150 years.....

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diomedes66

11:39AM | Thu, 04 May 2006

I do believe that I have been winked at :-) We do still have a few wild (more or less) herds here in Arizona - quite a grand animal who deserves to run free... sigh.. well done sir.

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killerpumpkins

12:37PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Wow! That's one big cowpie! KP

Valerie-Ducom

12:52PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

wowwwwwww, it's the Monsieur Buffalo here... excellent photo with these sublim color!!! Excellent my friend ;)

jared99

1:02PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Excellent image and info. Thankfully they didn't go extinct, but man what a close call.

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Cosme..D..Churruca

1:22PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Genial compo... excellent !

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kimariehere

1:31PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

wonderful shot !! i like the big water tower towering over him there you even got the buffalo poopy hehhe LOL!! ( we have about 16 of them living at a local western museam park that Walt Disney actually gave to our community back in the 60s so all thered decendants live there now.. i love to take my girls and go and watch them !!...)

Hopalong

1:47PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

The intention was indirect genocide--exterminate the bison, the Plains Injuns are exterminated. The RR was also responsible for making a market for beef cattle farther west and north--which was rather silly, since beef cattle had trouble surviving the winters, and the cattlemen, who were after money at market mainly, could not look far enough ahead to crossbreed. Careful with that Polish Bison--high proof indeed, hehe.

logiloglu

1:50PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

a fascinating image, great contrast. excellent capture ! #:O)

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Margana

1:54PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Ewwwww!!!What's that smell?Oops,guess I didn't look where I was going,lol.You warned me too late!...Gotta laugh at the scientific name of the Plains Bison...Bison Bison Bison...LMAO!Boy someone sure got lazy,eh?Must have been the same genius that named the fly,lol.Fascinating upload Kortalouche.Now I know all there is to know about Bison.Yup.Lucky meeeeeee!!!I'm ready Mr.Trebek!LOL!Have a great day kiddo!-M :^)

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Valentin

2:38PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Magnificent capture of these solitary buffalo under the sun! Stunning!

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short_ribs

2:39PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

wow this is a truely unique shot mate!!! The compo is more than perfect!!! Thanks for sharing and hope ya have a great day/night!

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Onslow

3:14PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Nice juxaposition and great image and as always thought provoking quotes and words another gem for the Twopynts gallery :)

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CDBrugg

3:39PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

"There's nothing wrong with being smart. There's nothing wrong with being cut from the herd, either. It makes you the one buffalo who isn't there when the Indians run the rest of them off the cliff." - Malcolm in the Middle

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Nath06

4:37PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Excellent capture !!! Bravo :)

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babuci

6:01PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Powerfull picture to think about!

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WiserAngel

6:16PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

ha ha...kinda funny with the water tower in the back. That's not a photo you see everyday! And thanks a lot, now I can't get that song out of my head! ;)

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jif3d

6:37PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Man what a furry ride-on lawn mower, I think he needs some grass to munch on ! or at least a friend to play with ? interesting sad capture...~Cheers~ :o)

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pm_hackworth

6:46PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

I'm gonna cry!!! Is he well taken care of? I hope so. Vote

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tmathise

7:44PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Nice image Kort, the accompanying dialog is excellent! I hope all is most splendid with you! Have a fantastic weekend buddy!

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claudialee

7:53PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Buffalo girls won't you come out tonight? No, guess that would be too much to hope for, but he does look lonely. Perhaps you could give him a little cuddle. Nope!!! HUGS anyway!!!!!

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hotracer2

8:42PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

Excellent shot and comments, we have a herd in Arizona near Heber:):)..V

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jocko500

10:54PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

cool shot . looking good

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BBarbs

11:30PM | Thu, 04 May 2006

We have buffaloes here in NM, but I dont know what kind they are. Ted Turner bought a huuuuuuuuggeeeeeee ranch in Northern NM and has turned it into a buffalo preservation land. Seems that there are alot of them here, some wild, some not. Great beast.

FuzzyShadows

12:01AM | Fri, 05 May 2006

Your thumbnail is awesome!

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