Scientific Name and Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Infraclass: Eutheria

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Bovidae

Subfamily: Bovinae

Genus: Bison

Bison, ox-like in Greek, belong to the bovidae family just like cattle, buffalo, antelope, gazelles, sheep and goats.

The average life spam of a healthy bison is of approximately 30 to 35 years.

A female bison may produce 20-25 calves in a lifetime.

An adult male bison, bulls, can stand 6 feet tall (1.8 m) and weigh 1 ton (907 kg). Cows, female bison, weigh only half as much.

Both sexes have horns.

Their hump is needed as a counterbalance for their large and heavy head. As they mature the hump prevents them from rolling over.

Natural habitats are plains, prairies and river valleys.

Bisons are grazers, meaning they eat mainly grass. Bison eat in the early morning and evening and chew their cud in between. In winter, Bison use their head and hooves to find food beneath the snow.

Adult bison have few natural predators. Their horns, strong hooves, large size and speed – Bison can run 35 mph – are effective weapons of self-defense against wolf packs and even bears.

American bison live, feed and move in herds like all other gregarious animals. The herds include cows and calves.

Adult bulls are solitary animals and only join a herd during the mating season called the rut.

Bison society is based on the herd: a group of up to 20 related adult females together with their young