Rugged. That seems like an apt description of this monstrous bison bull I photographed last weekend.
He is one of the big boys at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado and worthy of respect for sure.
It used to be we called these creatures “buffalo” but that actually was incorrect. While they are part of the same family that includes the European and African buffalo, the Bison is its own, distinct species. It is believed they were called buffalo by early North American explorers due to their resemblance to the Old-World species. Native Americans call them Tatanka, a Lakota word that translated means “bull buffalo.”
In May 2016 the #bison became the official mammal of the United States, a fitting and long overdue honor. Today is National Bison Day so it is a fitting time to share this image.
