Binghamton Zoo Animals

American Bison

(lBison bison)
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Genus: Bison
Species: Bison bison

HABITAT AND RANGE: When Europeans first settled in North America, bison could be found from northern Canada as far south as the border of Mexico and across the continent from the east of the Rocky Mountains. It is believed that they would have continued to spread onto the plains of the Pacific Coast. They were hunted so extensively in the late 1800s and early 1900s that they nearly became extinct. Today there are well over 200,000 bison in America on both private farms and national parks. The only original wild herd is in Yellowstone National Park and numbers around 4,000 animals. Before settlers came to North America, there were an estimated 50 to 60 million roaming the prairies and grasslands.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The average male stands 5 ½ feet at the shoulder and weighs about a ton. Males can get as large at the shoulder and weigh up to 3,000 lbs. The shoulder is raised in a distinct hump giving a hunch-backed appearance. The hair on the head, neck and shoulders is long and shaggy. The forehead is broad and is flanked by two short, curving horns that are carried by both sexes. There are two distinct varieties of American Bison, the Plains Bison and the Wood Bison. The Plains Bison is smaller and lighter in color but has a heavier head and hump. Bison are often incorrectly referred to as buffalo. There are only three species of buffalo and they are from Africa and Asia.

ADAPTATIONS: Bison live in herds, in the past numbering thousands of individuals, but they are now much smaller. The smallest group is the bull, cow and the offspring, with the cow serving as the leader of the family group. Bison are most active during morning and evening. They like to wallow in the mud and rub up against trees and boulders. Their feeding habits lead to seasonal migrations to preferred feeding grounds. They may travel hundreds of mile in a single season.

DIET: The American Bison feed on grasses, plants and sometimes bark.

REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: Mating takes place from July through September. The males in a herd fight each other, but there is no “Harem-master” who monopolizes sexual activities. Gestation lasts about nine months and the calves are usually born from April to June. The cow leaves the herd to drop her calf and returns when it is able to walk. The whole herd assists in the defense of the calves, whose only natural enemy, besides man, is the wolf. The calves are nursed for a year and stay with their mothers until they are sexually mature at three years of age.

STATUS IN WILD: There were once an estimated 50-60 million bison in North America. Today, there are approximately 200,000. Bison were hunted so extensively by European settlers that they were almost extinct. Settlers hunted them for meat, hides, bones and for sport. Large scaled hunts were organized to get meat for the men building railroads. The completion of the railroad opened a market in the east for the meat and the bones were ground and used for fertilizer. Where there was no market the bison were hunted for sport, with some reporting bags of 50-60 animals in one day. The carcasses were usually left to rot, with not a pound of meat or a single hide being collected.

The Native Americans relied very heavily on the bison for meat, hides for clothing, bedding, tents and canoes, dung for fuel, bones and sinews for weapons, tools and utensils. Without the bison, much of the Native American culture died. Wars broke out as Native Americans saw their livelihood and territory disappearing. Many European settlers believed that killing the bison was the only way of “civilizing” the Native Americans.