# American Bison

*Bison bison*

Despite their massive bulk, bison are surprisingly agile; they can jump over fences six feet high and swim across wide rivers.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Artiodactyla › Bovidae › Bison
- **IUCN Red List status:** Near Threatened
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Open prairies, grasslands, and scrublands; occasionally found in lightly wooded areas.
- **Diet:** Herbivore, primarily consuming grasses, sedges, and occasionally woody plant material or lichens.
- **Range:** Yellowstone National Park, USA, Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, Antelope Island, USA, Janos Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
- **Size:** Height: 5 to 6.5 feet at the shoulder; Weight: 1,000 to 2,200 lbs.
- **Lifespan:** 15 to 25 years in the wild.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss, genetic bottlenecking, disease transmission from livestock, and loss of historical migration routes.
- **Safe to approach?:** Dangerous and highly defensive. Maintain a minimum distance of 25 yards (75 feet) at all times. If a bison stops grazing and stares, shakes its head, or raises its tail, you are too close; move away slowly. If charged, seek cover behind a tree or vehicle. In the event of a goring or trampling, seek immediate emergency medical services.

## About

The American bison ( Bison bison ), also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo , is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds. They became nearly extinct by a combination of commercial hunting and slaughter in the 19th century and introduction of bovine diseases from domestic cattle, and have made a recent resurgence largely restricted to a few national parks and reserves. Their historical range roughly...

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/c8e78fa8-4eb6-4bc1-bdc4-caea3901cfa7
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42408
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison bison
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/297923496/medium.jpg (Kathlin Simpkins, CC0, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.