Big bison observation #11: Bison hold grudges, but can be bribed for forgiveness

As I've mentioned in previous posts, bison have two mating seasons each year: a minor one in spring and a major one in late summer.  During these periods a healthy dominant bison bull will become singularly attentive to any female nearing or in estrus and extremely aggressive towards any perceived interference.

Last spring, our bull was quite aggressive towards me during the early spring mating period and then calmed down quite a bit during the summer.  With the onset of late summer, Jess and I weren't sure what to expect, but figured I would probably be the victim of more hatred.  Now, with mating season in full swing, it is clear that the situation not what we had expected.

Though our bull is showing the normal signs of sexual interest in receptive females, it appears that he could care less about me.  I seem to have ceased to be a source of concern to him.

There could be any number of explanations for his change in attitude, but I think the change is largely do to fact that I will now occasionally give him a large bowl of sweet feed to eat.  In the bull's mind, this periodic bribery has transformed my title from the "bringer of anguish and anxiety" to the "bringer of sweet feed."
The new bull being released into our ranch.  In retrospect I think that he came to associate much of the stress and anxiety he experienced during the transportation from Texas directly with me.  This may have done much to shape his early opinion of me as the "bringer of anguish and anxiety."
The occasional bowl of sweet feed has greatly mellowed our bull's opinion of me and given me the new title of the "bringer of sweet feed."

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