A late arrival at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in December. Most calves are born during the warmer months but this little one decided to appear in the dead of winter and right before a significant snow storm as well.
At the time this picture was taken, it was only five days old. Sooner after, the Denver area got hit with a storm that deposited a good bit of snow and sent temperature plunging. Nevertheless, the little one weathered it like a champ.
These massive animals were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1700s and 1800s with as few as 750 reported by 1890. Their numbers have since rebounded with about 500,000 now living on public and private lands. Native Americans call them Tatanka, a Lakota word that translated means “bull buffalo.”
