| Class: |
Mammalia |
|
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| Order: | Artiodactyla (same as deer, sheep, pronghorn) | |||
| Family: | Bovidae (true horns, not branched, on both sexes, cattle, sheep, goat, musk ox) | |||
| Genus: | Bison | |||
| Species: | bison | |||
| Subspecies: | athabascae
(woods) bison (plains) |
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| Name/ History: |
Late 1800s bison almost became extinct. They were saved by the American Bison Society. Often called buffalo by early scientists who thought they were related to the Africa/Asian water buffaloes. French explorers also called the animals "les boeff" - the cattle. | |||
| Size: |
Male
|
Female
|
Calf
|
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| Weight (lbs) |
2000
|
1000
|
30-70
|
|
| Height (ft) |
5.5-6
|
4.5-5.5
|
2.5
|
|
| Rut: | June-September (one bull forms a temporary "tending bond" with one cow at a time) | |||
| Gestation: | 9.5 months | |||
| Birth: | April -June (reddish, brown fur, no conspicuous hump) | |||
| # young: | Usually 1 | |||
| Age: | 12-15 years | |||
| Habitat/ Range: |
At one time bison roamed North America from Alaska to northern Mexico, western California to western New York. | |||
| Food: | Grasses, browse | |||
| Enemies: | Occasionally grizzly, humans, extinct prairie wolf | |||
| Disease: | Brucellosis, tuberculosis | |||
| Communication: | Grunts/snorts between cow-calf, roar by bulls during rut | |||
| Behavior/ Characteristics: |
Generally cow/calves in herd together, bulls alone or in small bull herd except during the rut. | |||