The Largest Bison Ever Caught in Oklahoma

Once blanketing North America in the tens of millions, the iconic bison was brought to the brink of extinction by overhunting in the 1890s. Some estimates put the total surviving population at a paltry 300 animals. The “Great Slaughter” of the American bison between 1820-1880 changed the landscape of the American West forever.

Today, while about 360,000 plains bison are privately owned as domestic livestock, about 31,000 wild bison roam free in national parks and refuges in the United States and Canada. Oklahoma is home to a few large wild herds. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Comanche County and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage County maintain bison herds. The Oklahoma Historical Society also manages a herd near Pawnee, OK.

Oklahoma paved the way in 1972 when it adopted the bison as its state mammal. In 2016, the United States followed suit and made the bison its national mammal. Perhaps no other symbol is as iconic of the American West as the bison.

Bison Characteristics

The American bison is the largest mammal in North America. Weighing between 1,000-2,000 pounds, males are typically six feet from hoof to shoulder. Females are somewhat smaller at around five feet tall and weigh between 800-1,000 pounds.

Both males and females grow horns. Their horns start to develop around two months old. All bison have long shaggy brown fur. They have big heads and a mane and beard under their chin. Bison use their long tails with a wiry tuft of hair at the end to swat flies and other insects. They are often identified by their short black horns and hump on their shoulders.

The average lifespan for a bison is 10-20 years, although many live to be much older. Females carry their young for nine months before giving birth. Calves stay with with mothers for about a year.

The Largest Bison Ever Caught in Oklahoma

According to the Boone and Crockett Club‘s state big game records, the largest bison ever caught in Oklahoma was killed by H.A. Yocum on December 8, 1943, in Osage, OK. The bison’s greatest spread was 30 and three-eighths inches. Its tip-to-tip spread was 23 and four-eighths, according to the score chart. The length of the right horn was 20 and three-eighths and the left was 20 and five-eighths. At the base of the horn, the circumference was 13 and four-eighths on the right and 14 and one-eighth on the left.

Check out the score chart for the largest bison ever caught in Oklahoma.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Tim Malek/Shutterstock.com