16 



POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 



AMERICAN BISON. 



than nine-tenths of the original herd having been slaught- 

 ered by poachers since 1890. There are about twelve hun- 

 dred buffaloes alive in captivity, chiefly in large private 

 game preserves. 



Usually buffalo calves are born in May, June, and July. 

 Full maturity is not reached until the end of the seventh 

 year, when the horns of the male at first a straight 

 spike have attained their full semicircular curve. Like 

 all thick-haired animals of the temperate zone, the buffalo 

 sheds its coat in spring, and does not regain full pelage 

 until October or November. 



The buffalo breeds in confinement about as readily as 

 domestic cattle. In appearance, it is the most imposing of 

 all bovine animals, and with two exceptions it is also the 

 largest. In captivity its disposition is mild, though inclined 

 to stubbornness. Occasionally, however, an old bull be- 

 comes so vicious that it is necessary to seclude him from 

 the herd, and treat him as a dangerous animal. 



With the exception of a very few individuals, our entire 

 Buffalo Herd is the gift of the late William C. Whitney, 

 and the increase therefrom. The total number of head on 

 hand on January 1, 1907, was thirty-eight. 



In 1906, the New York Zoological Society presented to the 



