Buffalo

The bison death toll continues to climb for Yellowstone National Park, as park officials say they plan to slaughter an estimated 180 animals captured Monday to prevent the spread of disease. The bison were captured on the north end of the park near the town of Gardiner -- not far from Yellowstone's famed Roosevelt Arch.

Montana and federal officials announced a deal Thursday to let some bison migrate through a private ranch bordering Yellowstone National Park. It would allow a small number of the animals to avoid slaughter under a disease control program that has claimed more than 3,000 bison since 2000. Gov.

They roam freely over the grassy hills, American royalty in a most unusual setting. Nearby, young Marines are being tutored in the controlled application of violence, but the 147 bison of Camp Pendleton, shaggy, rust-colored and majestic, are protected by federal law. Their piercing dark eyes, powerful appearance and sharp horns seem to warn intruders to their realm to stand clear. If they sense a threat to their young, they will charge.

After an absence of more than a century, wild bison were returned to Colorado's Front Range. Sixteen buffalo from the National Bison Range in northwestern Montana were released into an enclosed 1,400-acre section of a wildlife refuge that formerly was the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, where nerve gas and other chemical weapons were manufactured. The refuge, which is about 10 miles from downtown Denver, already is home to deer, bald eagles and hundreds of other species.

A backpacker who was gored this week by an American bison on Santa Catalina Island continued to recover Friday. Jardrec Anangos, 24, of Cerritos was recovering from a fractured pelvic bone after he was attacked Wednesday by one of the descendants of a herd brought over to film a silent movie in the 1920s. "All I can say is I'm happy to be alive," Anangos said.

Boots crunching on iced-over snow, Jeff Vader creeps toward two animals from the world's last wild herd of pure buffalo. The normally chatty 50-year-old crouches behind a cluster of juniper trees and puts a finger to his lips. The four men behind him fall mute. Vader lies on his belly, points his rifle at the biggest bull and becomes part of a contentious experiment in controlling an icon of the American West.

Re "They've built a house -- now they'll shake it down," Nov. 13 One thing missing from this article is the fact that the federally funded Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation is at the State University of New York in Buffalo because of congressional pork politics years ago. I'm sure the folks there are fine engineers, but it makes as much sense to have an earthquake engineering center in Buffalo as it would to have the nation's snow-removal research...

In a recent Morning Briefing campaign, you seem to have forgotten our neighbor to the south when you claim that Buffalo or Cleveland are the losingest cities in sports. San Diego has compiled a dismal record in three major sports. They have not won a championship since 1963, if you count the Chargers' American Football League title. The Padres have never won a title in their 39 years, and neither did the Clippers during their six-year stay. Between the three teams that is 88 seasons without a title.

An arrest warrant accuses a Texas man of animal cruelty and theft in the slaughter of 32 bison on a Colorado ranch near Fairplay in March. The warrant names Jeffrey Scott Hawn of Austin, Texas, who controls the ranch where the bison were shot. The bison were found in late March strewn across hundreds of snow-covered acres about 85 miles southwest of Denver.

I enjoyed reading about Susan Spano's passion for buffalo mozzarella ["Where the Mozzarella Roams," May 10]. My husband's family comes from the Salerno area and eating le Vannulosita, as we call those delicacies, is one of the highlights of our summer vacations. Our family saying is that Vannulo mozzarella is "proof of the existence of God." Gabriella C. Marino Rome I swear I could taste the grass that the buffalo grazed on just by reading Susan Spano's story. And yes, even reading about mozzare can make you happy.