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AMERICAN BISON FACTS
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Description
The Bison is a large bovine animal with distinctive shoulder hump and large head. The fur is brown, with longer hair on front part of body, especially in males. The horns are black and curve upwards. Calves are reddish in color and turn brown after a few months.
Other Names
American Buffalo
Size
length: males 3.1-3.8m females; 2.1-3.2m
Environment
The bison used to roam the grasslands and savannas of north America. Now they are found in separate populations in various protected areas of western North America.
Food
grasses and other vegetation such as sagebrush, roots, tubers
Breeding
a single calf is born each year after gestation period of about 285 days. The calf is weaned after a year.
Notes
There used to be tens of millions of bison in North America, but these almost hunted to extinction. By the 1880s there were less than 1000 left. With protection, the population has now grown to over 150,000 animals. Most of these live on private land.
They can be seen in some national parks such as Yellowstone National Park. A Yellowstone tour is a good way to see bison in the wild.
On some private ranches, bison are raised for producing bison meat.
Conservation Status
LR|cd
Classification
| Class: | Mammalia | | Order: | Artiodactyla | | Family: | Bovidae | | Genus: | Bison | | Species: | bison | | Common Name: | American Bison |
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