No, this can’t be. After all, this is Florida in 2001 -- not the Wild West in 1888. You can’t be seeing this ....

But you are seeing this: a herd of 40 bison. Yes bison, or buffalo -- horns, humps, flared nostrils and all. Bigger-than-life ones that weigh a ton. Cute smaller ones running after their moms.

"Better not get too close to the babies," Keely Cinkota warns. "Moms can get pretty protective."

Cinkota is the tour guide for the 3-hour off-road cycling adventure tour offered at Babcock Wilderness Adventure in Punta Gorda. The area is touting itself as "pure Florida," and it doesn’t get more pure than this.

"Seeing the bison in person that close is truly breathtaking," said Steve Tutko, Babcock’s tour director. "It warms people’s hearts, and they get really emotional."

The Babcock family established this area of Charlotte Harbor & The Gulf Islands in 1914. E.V. Babcock -- a Pennsylvania native -- founded the Babcock Lumber Company, which today is one of the largest lumber companies in the country. Babcock Wilderness Adventure encompasses 153 square miles, is six times the size of Manhattan and is twice the size of Washington, D.C.

Only a fraction of the immense preserve is visited in the 3-hour bike tour, but you peddle through an impressive variety of habitats -- open prairie (where the buffalo roam), pine flatwoods, oak hammock and cypress swamp.

For the bison, Babcock is a buffalo-sized version of The Dating Game, as the bison are raised as breeding stock, not for food.

During the early 1800s, American bison -- including herds that roamed areas of Florida -- numbered as many as 75 million. However, by 1886 settlers had hunted them nearly to extinction. Only about 500 of the statuesque animals remained.

Since the turn of the century, some American ranchers, including the Babcocks and media mogul Ted Turner, have been working to re-establish the species -- raising, breeding and re-establishing them on their large, rural spreads.

Many other animals have found a haven at Babcock’s wilderness. Everywhere you pedal, you spot wildlife. Does and their fawns graze in a meadow near the ranch’s administration building, which was formerly the center of the 19th-century logging town of Rouxville, population 200.

Winding down the dirt roads, you see possum and rabbits scampering about. A wooden bridge that crosses a marsh is a trendy sunbathing spot for alligators, but they clear out when they hear the bikes approach. Barred owls and red-shouldered hawks fly overhead between the sabal palms. They are among the more than 80 species of birds that inhabit this part of Charlotte Harbor & The Gulf Islands. Other birds include sandhill cranes and endangered whooping cranes.

Yet another surprise on this biking adventure are 4 cougars that live in a 3/4-acre section among the oaks. Introduced to the wilderness after they were born in captivity, the cougars are the same species used by state wildlife biologists to restore populations of endangered Florida panthers.

When you approach the cougars’ lair, you don’t see them right away. They blend into the tree trunks. And if you look up, it may just surprise you to see a 100-pounder draped across a tree limb staring at you 15 feet above your head!

Babcock Wilderness Adventure is located at 8000 State Road 31 in Charlotte County. The Charlotte Harbor adventure offers 3-hour biking with bison tours for $35 for adults, $30 for children 10-14. The price includes the off-road bicycle, guide service, helmet, water and trail mix. Vehicle tours cost $17.95 for adults, $9.95 for children 3-12. Tours are by reservation only. For more information, please call 800-500-5583.

Please see the EcoFlorida Ecotour Directory for more Florida ecotours.