01x04 - Episode 4

[bunniefuu]

(air whooshing loudly)

(bison snuffle softly)

(inspiring orchestra music)

- The bison is an American icon.

I have always been

fascinated by the depictions

of vast herds roaming

the Great Plains.

(inspiring orchestra music)

(footfalls thud softly)

(bison snuffles loudly)

They have etched their place

in the American psyche.

(inspiring orchestra music)

(bison rumbles softly)

My curiosity has

led me to explore

the current state of

bison and conservation

across the continent.

(air rumbles dramatically)

(siren wailing loudly)

Hunting has become a

controversial practice

in modern times.

My name is Dan Cabela and

I'm traveling the globe

to explore the true impact

that hunting is having

on our remaining

wild landscapes.

(lioness roars softly)

(sonorous synth tone)

(somber piano music)

At one point, there were

at least 30 million bison

roaming across the country.

(bison snuffling softly)

(somber piano music)

(g*n fires loudly)

(somber piano music continues)

(g*n firing loudly)

A few conservation

minded individuals

managed to preserve

the few that were left.

(camera clicks softly)

(hopeful guitar music)

(camera clicks softly)

(hopeful guitar music continues)

(bison snuffles softly)

(hopeful guitar music continues)

From the low point

of 1000 or less,

they have recovered to

nearly 500,000 strong.

(bison snuffle softly)

At least 400,000 of those

are privately owned.

(hopeful guitar music continues)

(man whistles loudly)

(bull rumbles softly)

(hopeful guitar music continues)

- You talked about

a great opportunity.

I think it's here in

front of you today.

But whenever they're ready

to bring the first animal,

I guess we'll get started.

This is your grand

champion bull.

He's weighing 1,729 pounds.

Here's the best of

the best right there.

10,000, 11,000.

(auctioneer chants loudly)

Five, 6,000, I'll find ya.

And $11,000 here.

And $6,000.

(auctioneer chants loudly)

Nine.

(auctioneer chants loudly)

Here we go, here we go

(auctioneer chants loudly).

14,000 for him,

14,000 for him, ay.

Sold at 13,500,

that's number six.

- From the auction, I head to

the National Bison Convention

to learn about their

ranching industry.

Hey Dave, I appreciate

you allowing us

to attend the conference here.

And just wanna get

a little information

about what you guys do and

what your group is about.

- Absolutely.

The National Bison Association,

we represent about

1,150 members,

48 states, 10 foreign countries.

We represent primarily the

commercial bison ranchers.

And everybody's playing a role

in bringing this animal back.

When we call bison

the greatest example

of market-based

species restoration

in the history of North America,

and that's because

we, as ranchers,

are working to bring

back the animals.

But since consumers,

those customers out there,

every time they

take a bite of bison

or go out and have a bison

hunt or, you know, whatever,

they're helping us to

bring back this animal.

What could be more

sustainable than the animal

that's been part

of this ecosystem

for thousands and

thousands of years?

Man, that's the

beauty of this story

is from this

grassland ecosystem,

that's more than 30% of

North America's land mass,

evolved under continuous

interaction with bison.

(people chatting in background)

- [Dan] I was

surprised by the vigor

and passion of this industry

and the vital role it has

played in bringing back bison.

- 18,000, it helps us in Vegas.

And our efforts to increase.

(man speaking indistinctly)

Thank you.

(audience clapping loudly)

- [Dan] Hey, John.

- Hey.

- Pleasure to finally

meet you.

- Nice to meet you, Dan.

- How are the bison doing on

your fantastic Wyoming ranch

that I keep hearing about?

- Well, the bison are doing

great on our ranch, thanks.

The Durham Ranch is what

we're talking about.

It's a family ranch.

I'm third generation that's

been involved with the ranch.

About 55,000 acres,

close to 90 square miles.

My grandfather and

my dad, you know,

were in the meat business

and put this ranch

together back in the '60s.

It's pretty novel back then

to market bison

meat to the public.

I'm kind of thinking

there's so much to be said

about this and we

could talk all day,

but my thinking is, I think

we should just head north,

go to the ranch,

get on the ground

and we'll learn a

lot better there.

- That's a great idea.

(mellow guitar music)

So I found myself

on a highway north.

(horn honks softly)

Imagining what these

planes would've looked like

full of bison.

(counter thrills softly)

And wondering what lay

ahead at Durham Ranch.

(mellow guitar music continues)

(engine whirs softly)

(air gusting softly)

(mellow guitar music continues)

(gravel crunches softly)

(mellow guitar music continues)

(gravel crunches softly)

(mellow guitar music continues)

(door thuds loudly)

(door rattles softly)

(mellow guitar music continues)

- This is a map of the ranch.

The bold green line

is the perimeter.

Each one of these areas

represents a grazing paddock.

The reason why we

have so many paddocks

is to allow us to control the

time element of the grazing.

In essence, what

we're trying to do

with the number of paddocks

and the time-controlled grazing

is more or less mimic the way

it would've been naturally

with the large herds of bison

grazing hundreds of years ago.

We plan out our grazing a

year in advance, basically.

I was just getting ready

to head out the feed.

So if you want to join

me, might be kind of fun.

(mellow guitar music)

(gravel crunches softly)

- John invited me to

Durham Ranch in Wyoming

to learn more about the

practice of bison ranching.

(door thuds loudly)

(door rattles softly)

(mellow guitar music continues)

John shows me some of the bison

that were raised

on Durham Ranch.

- The meat is

naturally lower in fat,

naturally lower in

cholesterol, high iron.

Varying products from

steaks, to skewers,

and burgers, and brats

appeal to the consumer.

The marketplace is retail

through grocery stores

and restaurants as well.

Consumer acceptance is very high

which is a good

thing for producers.

It's a good thing

for the species.

The fact that people

are wanting more of it

which creates the incentive

to raise more of them.

(mellow guitar music continues)

(door rattles loudly)

Here's where we store the feed.

We use a free-choice cafeteria

style mineral program.

They actually have their choice

of 16 different

vitamins and minerals

in a trailer that's out

with 'em all the time.

And instinctually, they know

how to balance their diet.

So they'll sniff or

lick whatever mineral,

trace mineral, vitamin it

is that they're looking for.

Take just a little

bit of it and move on.

We're gonna go give 'em just

a couple pounds a piece.

That's what we do

in the wintertime.

This helps keep them from losing

quite as much weight

as they might,

which helps 'em come

back in the spring.

Be prepared to breed.

(engine chugs loudly)

(alarm beeps softly)

(gate clinks softly)

(gate creaks and rattles loudly)

- Been fed by bison a few

times, but I've never fed them.

(bison snuffle loudly)

(engine whirs softly)

- There's 680 plus

animals in this group.

(bison snuffle softly)

One of the functions that

they provide on the land

is to actually create contact

between the plant

material and the ground.

And it needs good

seed to soil contact

before those seeds can

actually germinate.

This dung right here

is breaking down.

There's actually

even a little bit

of green grass right there.

Again, a function of

animal impact on the land.

Think about this in a

much, much larger scale.

You can just imagine

what the impact

and the importance of

these animals were,

particularly in the arid

semi-arid environments,

like the Great Plains.

(hopeful orchestra music)

Lots of connections, lots

of interconnectedness.

I love listening to 'em breathe.

You can just hear 'em.

(John inhales and

exhales audibly)

(bison snuffles loudly)

(hopeful orchestra

music continues)

It sort of gets in your blood.

You fall in love

with the animal.

What we're trying to

do here on this land

is improve the land,

make it healthier.

We want it to be around

for generations to come.

Healthy land, healthy

people, healthy communities,

it's a healthy company.

(bison snuffle loudly)

(hooves thud softly)

(hopeful orchestra music)

(hopeful orchestra

music continues)

- While these animals

are effectively domestic,

they are still living naturally

in their natural environment

as a keystone species.

(hopeful orchestra

music continues)

Ideally, all of these

animals roaming freely

would (music drowns out speech).

However, human progress

won't allow that.

Could you imagine 10,000 bison

walking through

your city or town?

The next best thing

is to give them value,

which creates an

economic incentive

and promotes

healthier ecosystems

and more natural spaces

for bison to roam.

I had to ask myself

what would happen

to the bison population

without the support of

the ranching industry.

(engine revs softly)

I've traveled far and wide

to get a better understanding

of my relationship to wildlife

and deep meaning

that that has for me.

(mellow orchestra music)

Bison ranching isn't the

only form of consumptive use

that is having an impact

on bison populations.

(mellow orchestra

music continues)

Another form of sustainable use

that has kept the bison on

the prairies is hunting.

(air whooshing softly)

(counter thrills softly)

There's something

special about coming back

to the town that I grew up

in to hunt my first bison

(mellow orchestra

music continues)

(engine revs softly)

(flag flaps softly)

(geese honk softly)

Head out and we'll

head the Sandhills

and see if we can find a

bison up there in the hills

that you want taken care of.

- [Dan] Sounds good.

(mellow orchestra

music continues)

- So the ranch we're

going to is 87,000 acres.

And it's 22 miles north to south

and about eight miles

wide at the widest part.

So it's really long and skinny,

but goes through some

really pretty cool country.

(mellow orchestra

music continues)

- [Dan] We were soon out of town

and into the wide open

prairies of Nebraska.

(mellow orchestra

music continues)

- Those bulls will kind

of want be close to her,

but they won't want

to be in the herd.

They like to hang up

in those big hills too,

the big bulls do.

Now, is the fun time,

we get to go find them.

- As the hunt commences,

anticipation grows.

There are many unknowns,

but by the end,

all of my questions

will be answered.

(somber piano music continues)

There were a surprising

number of bison

glassing for a good bull.

I couldn't help feeling like

I was stepping back in time.

(bison snuffles softly)

(somber piano music continues)

(case clicks softly)

(g*ns c*ck softly)

So we found a couple of bulls

and we're gonna go take a look.

They're just over

this rise right here.

I don't know how

far out they are,

but we're gonna

go check 'em out.

(somber piano music continues)

(brush shuffles softly)

There's something unique about

harvesting your own animal.

You're responsible for it.

You are participating

in a tradition

that has been part

of human society

since the earliest records.

Connected to where your

food is coming from.

(brush shuffles softly)

- We'll creep up here and get

a good look down below first.

- [Dan] As you approach,

nervousness sets in,

but you try to find clarity.

(air rumbles softly)

(brush shuffles loudly)

(air rumbles softly)

(anticipatory synth music)

- They're not gonna,

just this guy gets up,

he's not gonna go anywhere

(speaking away from mic).

This way.

(air rumbles softly)

(anticipatory synth music)

Let's get the bead

about 50 yards.

- Okay, okay.

(air rumbles softly)

(anticipatory synth music)

(bison snuffles loudly)

- One on the right,

the back one's the

(speaking away from mic).

(bison snuffles loudly)

Left, the back one

that's broad side.

- [Dan] Yup.

(anticipatory synth music)

(g*n fires loudly)

- [Judd] Good shot.

(grass rustling softly)

- There are a mixture

of emotions that collide

after you pull the trigger.

(somber orchestra music)

Happiness, sadness, fear,

elation, sorrow, remorse.

(somber orchestra

music continues)

It's difficult to describe.

I'm not sure I can describe it.

It's something that is

unique to these moments.

Something I don't

entirely understand,

but something I feel deeply.

(anticipatory synth music)

There's something unique about

harvesting your own animal.

You're responsible for it.

(inspirational orchestra music)

- [Judd] Left, the back

one that's broad side.

- [Dan] Yeah.

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

(g*n fires loudly)

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

- [Judd] Good shot.

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

- [Dan] A bison bull can

weigh up to 2,000 pounds

and it's some of the

healthiest meat available.

- [Judd] Okay.

Go.

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

(grass shuffling softly)

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

(engine revs softly)

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

- Randy.

- Steve.

- Dan, nice to meet you.

(flesh scrapes softly)

(inspirational orchestra chord)

(inspirational orchestra music)

- This is an experience.

And you'd like for it to be

a good experience for you.

- What they've been

suggesting is burger,

maybe some pounds of

steaks, you know, nice cuts.

Thank you.

And what makes harvesting

your own animal so special,

is sharing it with your

friends and family.

(people chatting in background)

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

(meat sizzling softly)

(knives scrape softly)

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

As the consumption of bison

become more mainstream,

the market will

continue to grow.

(meat sizzles loudly)

Not only is bison meat a

healthy alternative to beef,

but the industry has

(chatting drowns out speech)

America's prairies of it's made

of (speaking away from mic).

- Well, this is a

bison tenderloin.

(people chatting in background)

- An animal that has no use

to humans has no future.

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)

Whether or not you agree

to sustainable use,

the role this

practice has played

in restoring an American

icon should be considered.

(inspirational orchestra

music continues)