Bison are a kind, sympathetic, sentimental old lot. Perhaps it’s because, for most of the year, the herd is run by the fairer sex. Like elephants, bison have a matriarchal society; the adult bulls live off on their own in small groups for most of the year, rejoining the main herd during the summer breeding season. Gregarious, caring and benign, bison of both sexes keep a watchful eye on their fellow herd members and often come to the rescue when animals outside their species are in distress.
Thanks to observations by naturalists, biologists and cognitive ethologists, people are forced to cling to a shorter and shorter list of characteristics that make them “uniquely human.” Altruism and the practice of mourning over the remains of the dead are just two of the human “hallmarks” actually shared by species like elephants and bison.
I have witnessed bison put themselves in danger to protect not only other bison, but also animals they share their habitat with like elk and pronghorn. I’ve seen them stop to grieve when they happen upon the bones of their dearly departed—and even get pretty gloomy upon finding the dead of another species.
In the photos below, a bison herd came across the carcass of an elk cow killed by wolves earlier that day and spent the better part of the afternoon in a funk, solemnly paying their respects to the fallen and guarding her from scavengers.