Come And Watch The Buffalo Roam At The Detroit Zoo

By Patricia Janeway

Royal Oak, MI - Two American bison yearlings have taken up residence at the Detroit Zoo. Takoda, a male, and Teetonka, a female, both just over a year old, join May, an 8-year-old female who has called the Zoo home since 2001. The trio can be found grazing near Pierson Lake between the elk habitat and Australian Outback Adventure.

“Bison all but disappeared from this country’s landscape at one time and were brought back from the brink of extinction,” said Curator of Mammals Bob Lessnau. “These majestic creatures and icons of the American West are a welcome addition to the Detroit Zoo.”

In the 19th century, North American settlers killed over 50 million bison and the herds were reduced to only a few hundred. The remaining bison were kept in zoos and formed the basis for a new and protected population. Today, their numbers have rebounded to about 300,000, including approximately 975 in zoos.

 “The rescue of bison by the zoological community is one of America’s first conservation success stories,” said Lessnau.

The bison (Bison bison) is North America’s heaviest land animal, weighing between 900 and 2,100 pounds and reaching up to 6 feet tall. The bovine mammal has a shaggy, dark-brown coat and a large head and forequarters. Both males and females have short, curved horns that they use for fighting for status within the herd and for defense in the wild.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak. The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March. Admission is $11 for adults 13 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free. For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org. The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. For more information, call (313) 852-4056.