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Lone Rock School, Stevensville, Montana
Teacher: Pam Oakland
Grade 5
The history of the bison in the Flathead area began in 1873 when an Indian named Walking Coyote returned from Blackfeet Country on the plains with about five buffalo calves. They grew older and gave birth to eight calves. He sold them to two ranchers. Only about one hundred buffalo roamed the plains at that time. When the valley was becoming settled, one of the ranchers decided that the buffalo weren't welcome. So he decided to sell them to the government. President Roosevelt and the Congress were persuaded to set land aside for the bison. Three reservations were established from 1907 to 1909 to save the bison from becoming extinct. The National Bison Range consists of 18,500 acres. Today bison aren't extinct and there are more than 140,000 bison in North America.
The visitor center is awesome. There you will see a large model of the Bison Range. It shows the habitats of all the animals found there. Also on display was an old gun, stuffed male buffalo, and animal heads. All the animals found on the Bison Range were on display in the Visitor Center. The stuffed buffalo was 8 years old and weighed 2000 pounds.
Bison are the largest American animal. They once roamed the United States and Canada by the millions. Bison are herd animals. The cows range from 800 to 1000 pounds and bulls are up to 2500 pounds. Bison are born in April and May and reach adulthood at the age of 8. Cows care for their young until they're about three. Bison can live in places where it is very cruel. Much of the land bison live on today is the same as when Lewis and Clark came. You can tell if a bison is male or female by its horns. Bulls have straight out and up horns while cows have a barely visible hook on the end. Today most bison live in refuges.
Each year the Bison Range holds a round-up. Surplus animals are then sold. The buffalo need to be examined before they can be shipped; therefore, one area of the Bison Range consists of corrals and pens designed for this round-up. The buffalo pens are very interesting, especially if you have never been close to buffalo. The pens have to be strong to be able to hold all the buffalo ramming into them. There are all kinds of gates, gadgets, and ropes to lead them from one pen to the next. After separating the buffalo by their age and size, some buffalo are then loaded in trucks and shipped to their new owners.
The Bison Range has a lot of wildlife. You will find elk, mountain sheep, bear, coyote, mountain goat, whitetail deer, mule deer, ducks, ground squirrels, and if you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the rarely seen cougar. When whitetail deer are scared they stick their tail up. The whitetail deer's light brown fur is like a flowing river. Mule deer are darker and taller than whitetail deer. The antelope have white chests and brown backs. They also have y-shaped horns. Ducks were floating down the creek happily and peacefully. Their colors; green, brown, and gray shimmer in the morning light.
Along the scenic tour the grass was swaying and it had colors consisting of green and yellow. The dirt road is bumpy. It passed by beautiful tall rocky mountains that were jagged. Grassy hills that were slightly rolling were a nice addition to the drive. There were tall multi-colored trees that were swaying in the wind, and bushes in an array of color on the side of the road. The road going up and down the mountain was a series of switch backs. The scenic drive circles through the Bison Range allowing you a close-up view of the wildlife.
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