Dictionary:

bison

  (bī'sən, -zən)

1. A bovine mammal (Bison bison) of western North America, having large forequarters, a shaggy mane, and a massive head with short curved horns; a buffalo.
2. An animal (B. bonasus) of Europe, similar to but somewhat smaller than the bison; a wisent.

[Latin bisōn, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wisunt.]

The name for two species of the Bovidae in the mammalian order Artiodactyla, found in North America and Europe. The European bison (Bison bonasus) is commonly known as the wisent. The American species (B. bison), shown in the illustration, is often called buffalo but should not be confused with the African buffalo.

North American bison (Bison bison).

The European bison was originally abundant in the forested areas of western Europe during the late Cenozoic Era. The wisent is a browsing, woodland animal which congregates in relatively small herds. It is almost extinct in its natural range and, although a few herds exist, it is known mainly from a few hundred specimens preserved in zoological gardens and zoos.

An intensive effort has been made to preserve the species by breeding and maintaining this animal in captivity.

Although there are differences, the wisent is closely allied to the American species. The wisent has a small head carried in a high position and a short mane, and is more graceful and less massive than the North American species. The hump is less noticeable, the legs are longer, the horns are more slender, and the body is not so shaggy.

Enormous herds of the American bison existed on the Plains area of North America in western Canada and the western United States during the 19th century. It is estimated that there are still about 20,000 bison in Canada and the United States on preserves and national parks. These bovines are massive, with the males attaining a length of 9 ft (2.7 m), a height of 6 ft (1.8 m) at the shoulder, and weight up to 3000 lb (1350 kg). They are herbivorous, and migrated originally when the grass or forage became scarce. The large head is held in a low position, and behind the neck region is a characteristic hump. The forequarters are shaggy with the hair more pronounced in the male than the female. The senses of smell and hearing are well developed, while vision is poor. Both the male and female have horns which are small and set far apart. See also Artiodactyla; Buffalo; Mammalia.

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(click to enlarge)
American bison, or plains buffalo (Bison bison). (credit: Alan G. Nelson/Root Resources)

Either species (genus Bison) of oxlike bovid with a convex forehead and a pronounced shoulder hump. Its dark brown, coarse hair is especially long on the head, which is held low, and on the neck and shoulders. Both sexes bear heavy, curved horns. A mature bull stands about 6.5 ft (2 m) at the shoulder and weighs more than 1,980 lb (900 kg). Bison live in herds. The American bison (B. bison), commonly called buffalo, was abundant over most of North America when Europeans arrived. Uncontrolled hunting drove it nearly to extinction by 1900, but it has since recovered. The European bison (B. bonasus) is similar and survives only in a few managed herds.

For more information on bison, visit Britannica.com.

A genus of the family Bovidae. Have massive development of forequarters, covered with shaggy hair and topped by a large hump on the neck.

• B. bison — North American bison, a typical member of the bison group, the coarsest and most hairy of them.
• B. bonasus — the almost extinct European bison, a smaller, less hairy, more graceful version of B. bison.

This is an article about an animal. For other uses, see Bison (disambiguation).

Bison
Bison bison or buffalo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Bovinae Genus: Bison Hamilton Smith, 1827
Species
†B. antiquus B. bison B. bonasus †B. latifrons †B. occidentalis †B. priscus

Bison in winter. Alberta

Bison is a taxonomic group containing six species of large even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Only two of these species still exist: the American Bison (B. bison) and the European Bison, or wisent (B. bonasus).

In American Western culture, the bison is commonly referred to as "buffalo"; however, this is a misnomer. Though both bison and buffalo belong to the same family, Bovidae, the term 'buffalo' properly applies only to the Asian Water Buffalo and African Buffalo. The gaur, a large, thick-coated ox found in Asia, is also known as the Indian Bison, although it is in the genus Bos and thus not a true bison.

The American and European bison are the largest terrestrial mammals in North America and Europe. Like their cattle relatives, bison are nomadic grazers and travel in herds, except for the non-dominant bulls, which travel alone or in small groups during most of the year. American bison are known for living in the Great Plains. Both species were hunted close to extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries but have since rebounded, although the European bison is still endangered.

Unlike the Asian Water Buffalo, the bison has never really been domesticated, although it does appear on farms occasionally. It is raised now mostly on large ranches in the United States and Canada for meat. Wild herds are found in Yellowstone, Utah's Antelope Island, South Dakota's Custer State Park, Alaska, and northern central Canada (see Wood Bison).

Bison live to be about 20 years old and are born without their trademark "hump" or horns. With the development of their horns, they become mature at two to three years of age, although the males continue to grow slowly to about age seven. Adult bulls express a high degree of dominance during mating season.

On March 16, 2007, 15 American bison were re-introduced to Colorado to roam where they did over a century ago. A herd of 15 bison has been established in the 17,000-acre (69 km²) Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, a former chemical weapons manufacturing site.

On September 21, 2007, the research co-authored by biologist Dennis Hedgecock of the University of Southern California and Texas A&M University (journal Animal Genetics) found per DNA analysis that the Catalina wild American Bison of Santa Catalina Island, California is not pure bred, having a little bit of cow in them (45% have a domestic cow as an ancestor).^[1]

See also

• Bovid hybrids
• American Bison
• Plains Bison
• Wood Bison
• Ancient Bison
• Water Buffalo
• African Buffalo

Gallery

Herd of bison grazing in Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Bison feeding - Alberta.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bison

• Village Earth's Adopt-A-Bison Campaign

References

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - bison, bisonokse

Nederlands (Dutch)
bizon

Français (French)
n. - bison

Deutsch (German)
n. - Bison

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αμερικανικός βίσονας, βόνασος, βουβάλι της Ευρώπης

Italiano (Italian)
bisonte

Português (Portuguese)
n. - bisão (m) (Zool.)

Русский (Russian)
бизон

Español (Spanish)
n. - bisonte

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bison(oxe), visent

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
野牛

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 野牛

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 아메리카 들소

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - バイソン

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ثور بري‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תאו, בופאלו, ביזון‬

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