Bison
Bison are wondrous animals, being the largest land mammals found in America and certainly one of the strongest. It is closely related to Yak and Zebu cattle. Being nomadic by nature, they are prone to wonder off fenced pastures seeking grasslands, brush and adventure. Bison have a strange habit of rubbing their trunks vigorously on the soil, a practice called wallowing, which creates "snow man" shapes on the earth, and may sometimes lead to skin infection with earth-borne anthrax. Though typically placid, it can go from docile to furious "battering ram" in 30 seconds or less, creating mayhem with its hard skull and short horns. The adult bison can weigh up to 2600 pounds, roughly the tonnage of a mid-sized truck, standing about 6 feet tall and 10 feet in length. The American buffalo is a herd grazer which was once found across these United States and Canada, but its now more commonly encountered stalking the plains, living a nomadic life, traveling in typically single-gender herds until late in summer, when raging hormones force some commingling and procreation. Amazingly, bison can also crossbreed with cattle, producing fertile offspring which bare known as beefalo! There are about 200,000 bison or more in America, a specie that was once hunted to near-extinction at the turn of the 19th century. Man, as well as the grey wolf and bears, are its major predators in nature. November 1 is National Bison Day: support bison, eat steak!
Ostrich
The African flightless bird, the ostrich, has long been the victim of scuttlebutt. First, take the tale of hiding its he'd in the sand. It does not, but periodically uses its beak to rearrange eggs which are nested in the ground. Second, it is claimed that the female never sits on hatching eggs but rather stands guard over the eggs, watching ceaselessly without blinking or distraction until they hatch. Indeed, this myth probably led to the Orthodox Christian practice of hanging oil lamps within lavishly decorated ostrich eggs in analogy to the religious injunction to "Pray constantly, without cease". Now, for a few real facts: Ostriches are the largest birds. The biggest eggs on earth are ostrich eggs. Unlike all other birds, ostriches excrete urine and feces separately (not mixed together), just as in man. Ostrich skin makes the toughest leather. Ostriches are related to Emu, Kiwis and Rheas. Ostriches can run up to peak speeds of 45 miles per hour, making them the fastest 2-legged animals. The male ostrich is usually colored black, whilst the female is tan to grey. The lower legs are covered in red (males) or black (female) scales. Ostriches can only kick forward, but a kick could kill or maim. They perform a highly stylized, elaborate mating dance in summer before breeding. Eggs are incubated by (tan/brown-colored) females at daytime and (black-colored) males at night. These birds have no sweat glands and cannot sweat. They are amazingly well-adapted to hot, dry desert conditions, often panting to cool themselves through water evaporation from the lungs. Ostriches can live up to 65 years making them the longest-living birds.
Alpaca
This domesticated South American camelid is related to camels (of course), llamas (a larger cousin, also from South America) and wild guanacos as well as wild vicunas, all from South America. They can live up to 27 years. Typically shy, docile creatures, they sometimes manifest distasteful, if not overtly aggressive behavior, such as spitting on adversaries. In ordinary farm life, they shrill (in distress), orgle (in courtship), and kick (for attention), which truly is more of a "tap" than an aggressive boot. Though they have teeth, alpacas do not bite and have no hooves. These gentle animals are valuable for their lightweight lustrous fleece, low-fat meat, and smarts, often shown across the country for its inquisitive, beguiling intelligence.
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