The insanely powerful looking American Bison, also known as Bison bison (Lol), may be a herbivore but you do not want to upset one as this horse in Yellowstone discovered.
Now horses are pretty strong creatures themselves. Tall, slender, fast, and powerful, horses have been one of man’s best companions since the olden days.
But there must be a reason that men train horses for work and riding but leave bison alone. Mostly.
You can find bison in farms but it is in the wild where we get to see these mammals in all their glory. They can stand some 5 to 6.5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh a little over a ton.
That’s a whole lot of meat!
This family went on a 6 day horse pack trip when they captured this moment of a bison attempting to walk past a bunch of horses. The video says it was the bison’s second attempt.
What happened during his first try?
The big herbivore saunters over to the grazing horses and as soon as he’s close enough, one of the taller horses makes its way over to the bison. Just like a curious neighbor wandering over to check on the new guy.
Nose to nose with neither one budging, both animals give one another that familiar head to toe (tail?) once over.
That is until the bison takes an intimidating step forward as if to charge at the horse.
Poor horse! He quickly backs off to join his friends as the bison starts walking towards their direction.
Once the bison makes his way through, he begins to run, surprising even the horses who in turn start running as well. He’s really quick for his size. In fact, they can reach speeds of up to 40 miles an hour!
Good thing a farmer named Johnny left a comment explaining the bison’s behavior.
“We’ve raised buffalo in Texas.. He was wagging his tail, which means peace and happy,, he raises his tail and charges thru, which means I’m bigger than y’all and it was fun playing with you, see y’all later.. Just like a neighbors dog going home.”
Yeah, Johnny, but… He’s massive!
I like how the video ends by saying “A horse can outrun a bison. You can’t.” Don’t worry, I’ve got no plans of trying it.
Another viewer shared an interesting story,
“I love bison, my tribe raises them. One year a young calf was born and he was really friendly with people. We followed his herd around the reservation when they would move them just to go see him again. He would lick your hand and wag his tail while doing so.”
That is so cool. Imagine having a pet bison!
It’s a great moment caught on video. Kudos to this family for taking time out of this busy world to enjoy nature and see all its mostly forgotten splendor.
Let’s hope that bison and those horses became good friends though.
Watch this face off between bison and horse below!
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