Bison -everything about American Bison -

American Bison

TYPE of species :
Mammals

Life SPAN IN THE WILD : 12 to 20 years

SIZE : Head and body : 7 to 11.5 feet ; tail 19.75 to 23.5 inches WEIGHT : 930 to 2,200 pounds

The American Bison is a bovine animal that is native to North America . They once covered much of the open land east of the Appalachian Mountains from Canada down to Mexico . Prior to Europeans arriving , massive herds roamed the plains of the United States . It is estimated there were over 30 million American bison at one point .

What do bison eat ?

Bison are herbivores , meaning they eat plants . Mostly they graze on plants growing in the prairies like grasses and sedges . They spend most of the day grazing and then rest while they chew their cud . Then they move to a new spot and repeat the process . Don't let their docile behavior fool you , however . Bison can be dangerous . They are wild and unpredictable and will attack if they are provoked . They can be deadly , so never get too close to a wild bison

Size and Diet

Bison stand some 5 to 6.5 feet tall at the shoulder , and can tip the scales at over a ton . Despite their massive size , bison are quick on their feet . When the need arises they can run at speeds up to 40 miles an hour . They sport curved , sharp horns that may grow to be two feet long . These large grazers feed on plains grasses , herbs , shrubs , and twigs . They regurgitate their food and chew it as cud before final digestion .

Herd Behavior

Females ( cows ) and adult males ( bulls ) generally live in small , separate bands and come together in very large herds during the summer mating season . Males battle for mating primacy , but such contests rarely turn dangerous . Females give birth to one calf after a nine - month pregnancy

Are they big and slow ?

Yes and no . Bison are huge , but they are very fast . They can actually run faster than a horse and can jump over 6 feet high in the air . So don't think you can outrun a bison if it decides to attack you .... you can't .

Are they endangered ?

In the 1800s bison were hunted by the thousands . It's estimated that up to 100,000 were killed in a day . They were typically hunted for their coat . By the end of the 1800s bison were nearly extinct . There were only a few hundred left out of the millions that once roamed the prairies . Since then the bison population has been revived . Some bison roam our national parks such as Yellowstone . Others are bred on ranches . Today the population is over several hundred thousand and the conservation status has been changed from endangered to near threatened .