Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in Pawhuska, Oklahoma- Jan. 2015

American bison, often mistakenly called buffaloes, are symbolic of the Great Plains and weigh in as the heaviest land animals in North America.

My cousin, an avid photographer and lover of all things indigenous, took me on a quest to find these gentle giants on Oklahoma’s coldest day of the year.

After trying to sneak up on some hundreds of yards away, we drove right up to a small herd hanging out on either side of the road. Although bison can charge when aggravated, these didn’t seem to mind and continued to graze peacefully while we took some photos.