North American Bison or Buffalo

Buffy and I when she was 5 years old.

A female buffalo was added to GarLyn Zoological Park the spring of 2001.Although buffalo is an improper name that most of us use. American Bison is really what she is. She was born on a buffalo farm nearby but her mother had complications during birth so we bottle raised the calf. She has grown rapidly and now at about 10 months old she weighs several hundred pounds. She loves having her neck scratched but is starting to get too big for her playfulness. She  will head butt and spin and kick from being excited. This could hurt if you don't pay attention. Once she is fed she settles down a little bit, but she gets very excited when she sees food. We feed her twice a day hay and grain. She will probably only be here one more year and then go back to the farm as a breeder in the herd. She will more than likely get too big and powerful for us to keep. She sure is a beautiful animal though.
(2007 update).
 She's still with us and still a sweetheart. She may not know she is a bison and this is keeping her mellow.

And here she is at 2 years old. What a sweetheart!

If you would like to see more photos of bison
at the zoo CLICK HERE

Click on the link below to hear some animal sounds at the zoo
Animal Sounds