From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 17810
Date: 2003-01-20
----- Original Message -----
From: <dmilt1896@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 4:21 AM
Subject: Re: [tied] bison
> Do bison stink? I never heard the American species accused of
> being particularly smelly.
Yes, they do have a characteristic musk smell. The European species is a forest animal and perhaps the smell is more conspicuous in the woods than it would be in the prairies. At any rate, when bulls fight during the mating season, the scent they have left hangs in the air for many hours. It resembles the smell of mustelids, so the etymological connection between 'weasel' and 'wisent' is less surprising that it might seem.
Piotr