Wood Bison

Don't you love that face?  This is a wood bison at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  We visited about a month ago and these were my favorite animals but I didn't get any good photos that day.  We decided to purchase a one year membership so we could go back and see how the animals and environment change over time.  Right now the bison are shedding their winter coats.
The other thing happening this time of year is…
Babies are starting to appear!
I think we counted six new babies, which is a good thing for the herd.  From the AWCC website:

"After more than 100 years of extinction in Alaska, wood bison have found their way back to the state of Alaska. The AWCC Wood Bison herd arrived in November 2003 from the Yukon Territory in Canada and is part of a wood bison recovery program designed to reintroduce the species to Alaska. AWCC is home to the only wood bison herd in the United States. Wood bison hold the distinction as the largest land animal in North America."
It was really amazing standing so close to them.  At times it felt like we were right in the herd.
At one point they were close enough to touch (although we didn't!) and they make a great sounds.  It's kind of a low pitched, rolling-growling sound.  Almost like a big cat purring or something.  Actually here's a sound file of a bison that does a better job than my description.  :) 
It will be interesting to see how big the babies have grown by next month.

~ k