[Taxacom] A Fundamental Question for All of You Taxacomers

[Scott Fisher]

It has nothing to do with heat conservation.  Bison face into the wind to avoid suffocating in snow drifts that would form around their head regions if their asses faced into the prevailing wind.  Ask any cattleman in Wyoming or Montana about what happens to his/her cattle when they face away from the wind...they die.

Cattle evolved in a part of the world not prone to the severe blizzards found in the Great Plains of North America.  They do what we all do when wind blows in our faces, turn away.  Bison, however, have the innate behavior to cope with such severe storms.  Spend a spring (April/May when snow is the heaviest) in Cheyenne or Casper, Wyoming, and you'll quickly learn why ranchers build two sided shelters large enough to protect their cattle from the drifting snow.  It's also the reason why Wyoming has more snow fence than any other place on the planet.

SF



________________________________
From: Frederick W Schueler <bckcdb at istar.ca>
Cc: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 10:04:46 PM
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] A Fundamental Question for All of You Taxacomers

Kenneth Kinman wrote:
>  I would be interested to know how animals like
> wildebeests (or other wild bovids) react to windy, inclement, weather.
> Do they react normally or more like cows?

* all I've ever heard about this, is that Bison face into the wind 
because they've got such excellent anterior insulation. Does anyone know 
of experiments with shaven Bison that might bear on this?

my contribution to the battle of the 2-cents-worth,

fred.
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       RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
    on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
      (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca
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If we'd been meant to refer to species by made-up vernacular names,
                God wouldn't have created Linnaeus!
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