Bison (Buffalo)

Bison (Buffalo) - Bison bison
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NPS Photo by Pete Bromley

 

Class	Mammalia
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)
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 Weight (lbs)	Male 2000	Female 1000	Calf 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
Predators	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.