IsItBullshit: Bison rejected calf because of human scent I recently read about the Bison Calf that was put in a car by tourist and then the park rangers couldn't reunite it with the herd.   The headline said it was due to the human scent but I think that's dubious.  I suspect there is a different reason.  The maternal instinct for a Bison has to be able to overcome something like the scent of a human. No? From the brief reading I've done it seems like most animals (except wild rabbits) will not be affected by the scent of a human.