BISON
A bison is a large bovine mammal having large forequarters, a shaggy mane, and a massive head with short curved horns. Bison was initially known as “buffalo” because of the similar appearance between the two animals. Historically, bison were the leading grazer on the Northern Great Plain landscape. In 1870 the population of bison reduced due to unstructured hunting, which caused bison declining. While in yesteryear the evaluation of bison animal was about 20 to 30 million.
KINDS OF BISON:
There are around five forms of bison present today.
These consists of : Plains bison , Woods
bison (all sub-species of the American Bison) , Wisent (European Bison) , Cape
Buffalo and the Asian Water Buffalo .
Plains Bison: They
are generally much smaller and stockier than Wood Bison. They have chaps of
long hair on forelegs and their cape is usually lighter in color. A large bank
of these long-haired animals rambled in a massive feeding ground in North America that stretched from
Mexico to Northern Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic seashore.
Woods
Bison: Wood bison is the biggest
endemic land mammal in North America. They have long straight hair sloping down
on forehead .They are huge and contain square hump wood bison are usually
darker in color. They have little or no chaps on forelegs. They are generally
small and have sharp beard.
Wisent
Bison: The European bison or wisent has similar manifestation to its North
American relatives and they are usually small in size. They have a short neck
and a pronounced shoulder hump with distinctive thickset body shape. They are
less fury as compared to American bison
Cape
buffalo: Cape buffalo, also known as African buffalo, is a gregarious
animal that belongs to Animalia Kingdom. They have huge and thick horns and are
considered to be one of the most deadly animals. The Cape buffalo has a broad chest,
giant limbs and a gigantic head .Their weight varies from 300 to 900kg and they
are known to live for up to 20 years.
Asian
Water Buffalo: Asian Water Buffalo is a gigantic, dominant animal with a
deep horn span than any other bovid. They are native to Southeast Asia .It has
been massively domesticated and is now widespread , reaching as far as North
Africa and the Near East, as well as Australia , Brazil and Central America .
DIET OF BISON:
Bison have a four-chambered stomach, which grants for
the digestion of cellulose and the ability to “eat and run”. They usually feed
on moist grasses, sedges and rushes .They also sometimes eat low shrubs and
forbs. They mainly eat leaves, grass, twigs and bark and they eat five times
daily and they drink water once in a day. Bison periodically eat berries and
lichen. In winters they eat snow and they use their head and hooves to move
snow off the vegetation. GENERAL FACTS:
·
- Bison can be killed by wolves and grizzly bears.
- Excellent winter insulation
- The Bison population varies from 2300 to 4500 animals
