If buffalo bluffing fails, fights can be vicious
Continued from pg. 8
Buffalo rarely get involved in an actual fight, he
said, but when they do it's vicious. When they do
fight, each buffalo tries to hold the other's head
between its horns. This way they can avoid the
other's horns, Gunderson said.
Fights to the death are extremely rare because on
the open range the injured buffalo can escape.
However, Gunderson said one bull was killed at Fort
Niobrara when it was trapped in the corner of the
conal and was gored to death because it cculdn't get
away.
Deaths more frequently occur from infection in
the wounds, he said.
Fights occur when there is competition for
something, Gunderson said, especially for females,
food and water, but the fighting is more intense over
females.
Mating season fights
Fights and challenges during mating season are
frequent because there is no permanent pair-bonding,
and, contrary to popular belief, buffalo males do not
have harems of females, he said.
When a female is receptive to a male, he establishes
a tending bond, standing neaj the female and
challenging any other male who approaches,
Gunderson said. 1
There is constant challenging and fighting, and
whichever male is in attendance when the female
comes into complete receptivity breeds her, he said.
The male stays with that female for a couple days
and then leaves to find another female.
According to Gunderson, buffalo have a maternal
society. The coie herd is made of females and young
males, and except for the breeding season the males
are scattered in groups by themselves.
More females
There are more females than males in a herd, and
even at birth the ratio favors females, Gunderson said.
He said he has a theory, which hasn't been proven
yet, that production in natural herds is lower than in
domestic herds, and that removal of most males from
Photos courtesy of
Harvey Gunderson
a herd would increase production by decreasing the
fighting.
Buffalo herds are loosely organized, Gunderson
said. They are not a solid herd as often visualized, but
are gathered in groups which are constantly shifting.
According to Gunderson, they are a social animal
up to a certain point and in ef fect say, "don't get too
close but I'd like to have you at arm's length."
Buffalo hierarchy
There appears to be some sort of a hierarchy in the
buffalo herd, but it's not very clear-cut, he said.
For example, he said he has seen a male who had
been drinking from a pond walk away when another
male approached to drink.
There has been a great deal of talk lately about
cross-breeding of buffalo and domestic cattie,
Gunderson said. Experiments of this type have been
going on since the 1920's without much success, he
said.
According to Gunderson, the National Buffalo
Association (NBA) advised ranchers at their 1974
convention to avoid trying to cross-breed unless they
were prepared to assume heavy financial losses over a
long period of time.
Several problems
The NBA cited several problems with the breeding,
including a maternal death rate of 90-95 per cent, a
surviving calf rate of only 1-2 per cent and the
sterility of any surviving male calves.
Gunderson said that the breed is now one-fourth
buffalo and that by the time complete fertility is
achieved, there won't be much buffalo in the animals,
and any advantages would be lost.
Also, Gunderson said, there is no proof that claims
made about trie buffalo's immunity to cancer or the
high content of polyunsaturates in buffalo meat are
true.
Gunderson agreed with an NBA suggestion that
the research be left to large companies who can
assume the risks.
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The buffalo (left, foreground) has just turned its head to avoid a fight, according to Harvey Gunderson, Assistant Director and Curator of the Zoology and Records
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Hair and horns typify male buffalo features (right).
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friday, march 21, 1975