American bison

CLASS

Mammals

FAMILY

Bovidae

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Bison bison

WHERE IS IN THE PARK

Safari

The american bison is an artiodactyl mammal of the Bovidae family, that was once widespread with huge herds of thousands of animals in the grasslands of North America. In the XIX century it became almost extinct, due to hunting and disease introduced by domestic cattle. Two subspecies of this mammal live in North America: the larger in size B. b. bison, native to the grasslands of the central North America, and the more petite B. b. athabascae, native to the forests in Alaska and Northeastern Canada.
The bison is an impressive mammal, its head-and-body length ranges from 210 to 350 cm, shoulder height can reach up to 190 cm in males, and average weight varies from 750 to 900 kg. The typical habitat consists of extensive grasslands in North America. Their historical range went from northern Mexico to southern Canada. Although today approximately 500,000 bisons live in private farms, only 30,000 garments are considered relevant for conservation, because they live in natural preserves or national parks. 15.000 individuals still live wild in the natural range.
Wild bison move in herds,
that 
often are very numerous. It is a typical herbivorous, that consumes season grasses and migrates following the abundance of food resources. Despite the size, the bison also has natural hunters. Wolf predation is concentrated on cows and calves, while adult males aren’t usually attacked.

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