Episode 14: Bison with Jessie McQuilliams

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INTRO (00:00)

*Music – you and me the adventure, me and you to the zoo*

EMILY BISHOP: Hello and welcome to the Sedgwick County ZooCast where we are inspiring respect and conservation for wildlife and wild places through caring, connecting, and conserving.

I’m your host, Emily Bishop. And today on the ZooCast, we’ll be sitting down with Zookeeper Jessie McQuilliams to talk about bison.

Keep listening to learn how to tell the bison at SCZ apart, how the hooves of the mighty bison helped create rich soil, and to test your knowledge on the state of Kansas.

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INTERVIEW WITH ZOOKEEPER JESSIE MCQUILLIAMS // LEARN ABOUT BISON (00:42)

BISHOP: Well, thank you for joining us again, on the ZooCast.

Jessie was also a guest on the prairie dog episode that came out at the beginning of January. So, if you haven’t listened to that episode yet, be sure to do that after you finish listening to this one. Jessie was a great guest on the ZooCast. Very knowledgeable, we had a really interesting conversation. So, it’s great to have you back.

So, if just to get started, you could give an introduction and talk about who you are and what you do at SCZ.

JESSIE MCQUILLIAMS: So, my name is Jessie McQuilliams. And here at SCZ I work with the prairie animals. So, I work with the bison, the cougars, prairie dogs, black footed ferrets, and otters for the most part.

BISHOP: How did you get started working in Prairie?

MCQUILLIAMS: I actually started by volunteering. And I had asked, well, what area needs the most help? And it was the prairie. They managed to have an opening later on, and yeah…

BISHOP: Yeah. Here you are.

MCQUILLIAMS: Here I am.

BISHOP: So, for listeners who aren’t familiar, what are bison?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, bison are the largest land mammal in North America. They’re actually, here in Kansas, they are our state mammal. And I don’t know, just a very large grazing animal that are actually native to all North America.

BISHOP: So, sometimes, I know people will refer to bison as buffalo, but that is incorrect. They aren’t the same. The terms are not interchangeable. So why do you think people make that mistake?

MCQUILLIAMS: I was thinking about that. And for me, I think it…this is gonna sound fun. But it goes back to the song “Home on the Range.”

BISHOP: Yeah.

MCQUILLIAMS: “Where the deer and the buffalo play.” I mean, if it wasn’t the correct term, why would you use it in the song?

BISHOP: Yeah.

MCQUILLIAMS: That’s probably, you know, not why people make the mistake.

But I mean, the difference between bison and buffalo, bison are found here in North America and South America. They have the big giant heads; they have the hump on their shoulders. They have short horns, thick fur, they have the beard. And they also can survive in cold temperatures very well.

Whereas buffalo are normally found in Africa and South Asia. And they have the smaller cow-like heads. Well, smaller heads, more cow like. They have short fur, long horns, and then they don’t do as well with the cold.

BISHOP: Why do bison have that hump?

MCQUILLIAMS: It’s just something that starts growing. Last thing I was reading was like it starts growing two to three months. When they’re two or three months old, they start getting their hump. I don’t know if it’s more to help them like when they’re in say, like Yellowstone plowing through the big snow drifts to kind of help push that snow out. That’d be my guess.

BISHOP: Sedgwick County Zoo is home to five bison. Can you tell us about them?

MCQUILLIAMS: I most surely can. So, we’ve got- got our two adult females. So, we’ve got Windy who’s 11 and Zephyr, who is nine. And then we just got in two yearlings, and their names are Pearl and Jade. And they are both a year and a half old. And then we’ve got Thunder, who’s our youngest, our little male. He is nine months old.

BISHOP: How long have the two adult females been here?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, they’ve been here for a number of years. They both came to us from the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. Its east from us, East Kansas. And then Pearl and Jade, they actually came to us from the Minnesota Zoo. And then Thunder, he was born right here at Sedgwick County.

BISHOP: So, the… all the younger ones are here within the last year or so. And the two older ones have been here for years and years and years.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yes indeed.

BISHOP: Yeah. Can you talk a bit about their personalities or any quirks or behaviors they have?

MCQUILLIAMS: Yes indeed. So, we have Windy, she’s our alpha female if you want to call her that. She’s in charge. So Windy, ever since I’ve started, she is… most people, they see the bison they think oh, they’re very slow. They’re very, they may be lazy. But they can run up to like 30-35 miles per hour. And Windy… Windy would like nothing more than to hurt you.

BISHOP: Oh.

MCQUILLIAMS: I’ve been working with her for quite awhile and she’s gotten to the point where Oh, okay, I- I’m going to be nicer. Because you have food. Otherwise, eh.

Zephyr she’s more of our shier adult. But since we’ve gotten our two little females, she- she thinks she has to chase them around now.

But Thunder, he is so happy to have friends. He’s been alone since his sisters left, which was… I think they left in June. So, he’s been by himself for a while. So, he loves having friends.

But Pearl and Jade. Pearl is the one that Thunder loves. He thinks she hung the moon. So, he’s always… always hanging out next to her. But Jade just tries to kick him, so…

BISHOP: Do you have any tips for being able to tell the bison apart if you’re coming and seeing them at the Zoo?

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah. So, if you see one… I mean they- they’re all of similar height now, because they’re all… they’re females. So, the females only get about 1000 pounds or so. Males usually get about 2000. But so, one of our- our adult female who’s the smallest she- her horns are… She’s been using the new drinker we got to sharpen her horn. So, they’re very sharp, very pointy. Yeah, you’ll see her right away.

The other female, she has short stubby horns because she’s accidentally broken them off a couple of times now. And then Pearl and Jade we’re just starting to get to know how to tell apart.

BISHOP: Oh, yeah?

MCQUILLIAMS: Because they look very similar. But one has a green ear tag and one has a white ear tag. And then Thunder’s our youngest and he’s, you see him, his little horns just go straight out right now they haven’t started curving up yet.

BISHOP: And for the for the adult females which one has the sharp horns and which one has the shorter ones?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, Zephyr has the sharp horns.

BISHOP: So Windy-

MCQUILLIAMS: And Windy has the short one.

BISHOP: So, our bison can be found at the North American Prairie Habitat. But what is a bison’s habitat like in the wild?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, you’d mainly find you know, most of them- grasslands, so they need that, you know to eat. But also, they could be found in you know, treed areas. Because obviously they love to eat brows. They love to eat leaves. I mean, if you see places like Yellowstone, it’s wide open, and they just kind of go from place to place. They just kind of roam around.

BISHOP: So, any kind of like large planed area.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah, for the most part.

BISHOP: What ecological niche are they fulfilling within their environment?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, they are actually a keystone species. So, they… they’re gonna help like, aerate the soil with their hooves, they’re gonna help disperse seeds where they’re at. And since they travel for, you know, in the olden days, when they travel for miles and miles, they disperse seeds and then different plants would go be able to germinate in different places.

BISHOP: Bison were once on the verge of extinction. Can you talk about that?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, back in the 1800s, there were 30 to 40 million bison that just roamed around North America, and being the largest land mammal… I mean, obviously they- they were hard to miss. But then by 1900, there were less than 1000 left in North America. So, they had some conservation groups that managed to save a few 100 of them. Different places like National Parks, preserves, and stuff like that.

BISHOP: Yeah. Can you talk a bit more about the conservation efforts that are ongoing for the bison?

MCQUILLIAMS: Um, so mainly, you know what happens, it’s on preserves or privately owned land, or you know, national parks. But basically, they just let them be bison, roam around. They give them opportunities, though, obviously for- for bringing in new bison and breeding so that we can further the species. And I think last I read was each year they have about a 13% population increase.

BISHOP: Oh, wow.

MCQUILLIAMS: So, it’s going.

BISHOP: Pretty good.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah.

BISHOP: Yeah, if listeners wanted to get involved with bison conservation, what could they do?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, we do have actually… where our- where Windy and Zephyr came from, the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. That’s actually, you know, natural habitat. And they actually have, obviously, they have bison out there. But going for a tour out there, and seeing what those- what they’re doing to help with conservation. That’s what people could do.

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LEARN ABOUT WINTER WEDNESDAY (10:44)

BISHOP: We’ll be back in a moment to learn more about bison. But first, let’s hear about how you can save money when you visit the Zoo.

Every Wednesday from November through February enjoy Winter Wednesdays at the Zoo. Admission is discounted all day.

Maybe watch your favorite animals frolic in the snow, step into the tropics building to warm up, or sip on a cup of cocoa from the Beastro.

Additional information can be found at scz.org.

Bundle up and come on down to the Sedgwick County Zoo for a Wild Winter Wednesday.

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TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON KANSAS // THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME (11:25)

BISHOP: Like you said earlier, the bison is the state mammal of Kansas since 1955. And as of 2016, they are also the official mammal of the US. I didn’t know this, I found this out when I was researching for this episode. But I guess in 2016, then president Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act, which designated them as the official mammal of the United States. But we’re here to focus on bison in Kansas.

And while this episode is going out on January 15, Kansas Day which celebrates Kansas becoming a state, is on January 29th. So, in honor of Kansas’ 147th birthday, we’re going to play a game.

MCQUILLIAMS: Okay.

BISHOP: Yeah, you- you get the experience of having been on one episode with questions from the audience and one with a game.

MCQUILLIAMS: Oh, I didn’t know there was an option

BISHOP: Yeah, the first person to experience both. So yeah, we’re gonna play a game. And the game is called.

*drumroll*

There’s No Place Like Home.

*rimshot*

Which isn’t really a joke. The names of these games are usually like puns or word plays. But, you know, that’s one of the most iconic lines from “The Wizard of Oz.”

MCQUILLIAMS: Indeed.

BISHOP: Which I think is what most people think of when they think of Kansas.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yes, yeah.

BISHOP: So, the rules of the game are simple. I’m going to give you a description of a state symbol of Kansas, and then you’re going to name the symbol. It is multiple choice, so if you need a hint, you can have it.

Listeners at home can play along as well. And we have five questions. So, you just need to get three correct to win.

MCQUILLIAMS: Okay

BISHOP: So, you can do it.

MCQUILLIAMS: Okay.

BISHOP: All right. So, question one.

Made the state flower in 1903, this plant can grow up to 15 feet tall with their heads having a diameter of two feet. An important food source from many animals, humans can eat the seeds and also make an oil from it.

MCQUILLIAMS: So, I didn’t know if I could answer like right away.

BISHOP: You can

MCQUILLIAMS: It’s the sunflower.

BISHOP: It’s the sunflower. You got it. One… one down four to go.

MCQUILLIAMS: Okay.

BISHOP: All right.

This bird became the state bird of Kansas in 1937. After more than 121,000 school children voted for it. Yellow with a black “V” on its chest, it’s also the state bird of five other states.

MCQUILLIAMS: I feel like for the people at home who aren’t from Kansas, this would be difficult.

BISHOP: Yeah, they’re going to be like, “oh, gosh”

MCQUILLIAMS: And I’m sure they want the multiple choice.

BISHOP: Yeah.

MCQUILLIAMS: But I know that it’s eastern meadowlark.

BISHOP: It is not the eastern meadowlark.

MCQUILLIAMS: It’s not?

BISHOP: It’s the Western meadowlark.

MCQUILLIAMS: Oh, dang it.

BISHOP: But you were very close. I actually learned from Scott Newland, when he was on the podcast, and I also made him play a game, that Kansas is unique in that it’s a location that has Eastern and Western, which is less common. And really, the main way that you can tell them apart is their song, because they also look very similar.

MCQUILLIAMS: They do look similar. That’s why I was like, I’m sure it’s…

BISHOP: I’ll give you- I’ll give you a half a point for that one. That counts.

Trucking on to question number three.

MCQUILLIAMS: Okay

BISHOP: Found in every county in Kansas, the state tree can reach heights of up to 100 feet. The seed pods of this tree often create a snow-like effect when blown in the wind.

MCQUILLIAMS: That’s the cottonwood.

BISHOP: It is the cottonwood. And in the summer, they just…

MCQUILLIAMS: I must say it’s my favorite tree.

BISHOP: I do like the cottonwood. It’s very fun.

MCQUILLIAMS: I have a coworker it’s their least favorite tree of all time. But I just love it. It’s just a happy tree.

BISHOP: It is- it’s very cool. I do think I might have like some seasonal allergies to cottonwood.

MCQUILLIAMS: Probably

BISHOP: But you know, small price to pay for the cottonwood trees.

So yeah, question four- the kind of deciding question on if you’re going to win the game, and then the other one will just be for… for funsies. For bonus.

This pollinator was made the state insect in 1976. The bill making it official says, “like all Kansans, it is proud, only fights in defense of something it cherishes, is a friendly bundle of energy, is always helping others throughout its lifetime, is a strong hard worker with limitless abilities, and is a mirror of virtue, triumph and glory.”

MCQUILLIAMS: I’m gonna guess the honeybee

BISHOP: It is the honeybee.

MCQUILLIAMS: Okay, good.

BISHOP: I just think that’s like a wonderful way for the honeybee to be described in official legal documents. They’re hard little workers the honeybees.

MCQUILLIAMS: They are.

BISHOP: Yeah. And you know, so you win.

MCQUILLIAMS: Okay, yay

BISHOP: And so, this one is just the bonus. Bonus Question.

In 1947, this 1870s poem was set to music and became the state song of Kansas. A favorite among cowboys, the song remained popular into the modern era with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby having recorded covers. However, the song incorrectly states that buffalo roamed the land.

MCQUILLIAMS: It’s Home on the Range.

BISHOP: Home on the Range. We already talked about it.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah, if I wasn’t from Kansas, this would probably be really tough.

BISHOP: Oh, for sure. It’s okay. Statistically, like 90% of our listeners are from Kansas. So, you know, everyone else. Sorry.

MCQUILLIAMS: Hopefully most of you at home get this.

BISHOP: Yeah, but you win.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yay

BISHOP: You get to be in charge of the whole state for the day. That’s your prize.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah, okay.

BISHOP: The Tsar of Kansas.

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LEARN ABOUT ZOO MEMBERSHIP (17:04)

BISHOP: Before Jessie and I finish our conversation about bison, let’s hear how you can experience more perks when you visit the Zoo.

Where can you find lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my? At the Sedgwick County Zoo of course.

Feed a giraffe, ride a train, and learn all about your favorite animal. And Zoo Members get to experience even more fun. For as low as $85 per person, you get to experience unlimited visits to the Zoo, early entry, discounts on special events, and early access to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

Become a member today. Visit scz.org/membership for more information.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS ON BISON (17:49)

BISHOP: As an ending note, I just have a few more questions.

So, what question are you asked the most about the bison?

MCQUILLIAMS: Usually it’s, you know, which one’s the baby one. Like, what’s the baby one’s name?

BISHOP: Mhm

MCQUILLIAMS: Because everyone really likes Thunder. And he was named in honor of his father. His name was Boomer. So, we named his- his youngster thunder.

BISHOP: Very sweet.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah

BISHOP: What is your favorite thing about the bison?

MCQUILLIAMS: I think it’s probably… they really love enrichment. Like, I know most people when they come, they see them and they’re just laying down and not doing anything. Because they do have to chew their cud. They do have to process their food all day long.

But like, when we put out enrichment, like they’ll go running out, maybe not 35 miles an hour, but pretty fast. And just depending on what it is get really into it. I actually have a video on my phone that I took yesterday, of one of the adult females challenging a dirt pile to a duel.

BISHOP: Oh, yeah?

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah. And she really…

BISHOP: She means business

MCQUILLIAMS: And she won that battle

BISHOP: Good

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah.

BISHOP: So, yeah, can you can you talk a bit more about the enrichment that you do with them?

MCQUILLIAMS: Sure. So mainly with them because they’re bigger, it’s harder to do manipulated items. So, for enrichment, obviously, when the trees are green, you know, we’ll bring them giant branches of leaves and they can go to town browsing however they’d like to. Otherwise, we have like, in their exhibit now we have a boomer ball that they can shove around, or we’ll do boxes, which is actually Windy’s favorite thing because she loves to flip them up with her horns.

And that’s also why you would never want to go up to a bison in the wild is I’ve watched them many a time, like when we give pumpkins. I call it pumpkin bowling; you roll out a pumpkin to them and they…  they smash it. But they use their horns and their head to smash that and they smash the pumpkin like it’s a grape.

BISHOP: Yeah.

MCQUILLIAMS: So, if they’re coming after you at 35 miles an hour… Yeah, just give them their space, respect them. Just view them from afar, take a picture. But yeah, they love all sorts of enrichment.

BISHOP: Yeah, I did see the other day, I was out walking around. And there was like a big pile of, I think, hay, that they were hanging- sitting in and also munching on. And I’m like, that’s like the dream when you’re a little kid and you want to live in like a candy house.

MCQUILLIAMS: You can eat and lay there.

BISHOP: Exactly. And that’s just that’s just the reality for the bison.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah. So, we- we kind of tend to alternate between- we have smaller bales of hay that we put out for them, you know, it’s free choice hay for them. They can eat however much they want. But sometimes we’ll go get a giant round bale and just put it out there and they can do whatever they want. But yeah, it’s mostly laying around and eating the food as they lay there.

BISHOP: Yeah. So, what is your favorite thing about working with the bison?

MCQUILLIAMS: I’d probably say that every day is just slightly different. I mean, sometimes you get to do fun stuff, like put a round bail out there. You know, have our horticulture team make a dirt pile for them. It’s just, I don’t know, it’s just always something new and they have the personalities of their own so they… everybody reacts different to stuff and it’s kind of fun to see how they’re gonna react.

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OUTRO (21:25)

BISHOP: Thanks for listening to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

This podcast is recorded on the traditional land of the Kiowa, Osage, Wichita, and Ute people, who have been stewards of the land since time immemorial.

This episode was researched, written and produced by me, Emily Bishop.

We’d like to give a special thank you to Jessie McQuilliams for sitting down and talking with us about bison.

Thank you to the Sedgwick County Zoo’s Marketing and Communication team.

And a special thank you to our Zoo Members, whose support makes this podcast possible. If you’re interested in becoming a Zoo Member, visit scz.org/membership.

Be sure to give us a follow so you never miss when we upload new episodes.

Thanks again for listening. Until next time, I’m Emily Bishop and this has been the Sedgwick County ZooCast.