Bison
Bison,
the largest terrestrial animal in North America, where
it is commonly called buffalo. Biologists prefer the
term Bison, which is based on the animal's Latin name,
as it distinguishes it from the cape buffalo of Africa
and the water buffalo of Asia.
The
bison is characterized by a hump over the front shoulders;
short, sharply pointed horns (in both sexes) curving
outward and up from the sides of the massive head;
and slimmer hindquarters.
A
mature bull of the North American bison is about 2
m (about 6.5 ft) high at the hump and 2.7 to 3.7 m
(9 to 12 ft) long and weighs 850 to 1100 kg (1800
to 2400 lb); the female is smaller. The head, neck,
forelegs, and front parts of the body have a thick
coat of long, dark hair. The rear part of the body
is covered with much shorter hair. The adult bull
usually has a black beard about 30 cm (about 12 in)
long.
Bison
are usually found in groups, except for old, solitary
bulls. Most of the year females with young form small
bands, and immature bulls may stay with them. Mature
males have their own groups. The bands may congregate
in large herds in the spring or fall to search for
food or water.
Bison
grunts and snorts are audible at short distances.
The roar of rutting bulls, audible at nearly 5 km
(nearly 3 mi), is heard most often in mating season,
mainly July to September, when bulls go looking for
cows and try to ward off rivals.
Breeding
bulls have little time to eat and lose more than 90
kg (about 200 lb) during mating season.
Gestation
is eight to nine months, and a single yellow-red calf
is born. After a few days the calf can keep up with
the herd and follows its mother until the following
spring.
The
bison originated in Eurasia and is one of the few
members of its family to have crossed the Bering Strait
land bridge in prehistoric times to North America,
where two subspecies, the plains bison and the wood
bison, survive.
The
European bison, or wisent, taller but lighter than
the American bison, is almost extinct; a few exist
in parks and zoos.
Until
the 19th century, as many as 60 million bison lived
on the Great Plains from Mexico into Canada, and some
were found east of the Mississippi River.
They
were central to the existence of the Plains peoples
(see Native Americans), who used them for food, hides,
and bone implements; even the dried dung, called buffalo
chips, was used as fuel.
From
1830 to 1889, methodical destruction by encroaching
white settlers, for sport and for hides, reduced this
number to less than 1000.
Today
well over 200,000 bison live in protected areas and
on private ranches.
Scientific
classification: Bison belong to the family Bovidae.
The plains bison is classified as Bison bison bison,
the wood bison as Bison bison athabascae, and the
European bison as Bison bonasus.
"Bison,"
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