Where does the bison live on the mainland. Where do bison live? On what continent, in what country? Differences from the European bison

• KEY FACTS
• Name: European bison, or bison (Bison bonasus)
• Area: Reserves in Eastern Europe
• The number of typical social group: 20-40 animals in the family, at certain periods bison form herds of several thousand heads
• Pregnancy period: 9 months
• Independence: 1 year
• Territory: 30-100 sq. km, depending on the season and food availability

The American bison is also known as the buffalo. It is known that American Indians with special reverence treated these animals. They roamed along with herds of bison, thanks to which they provided themselves with food and clothing.

The bison is the largest land mammal on the European and North American continents.

There are two types of bison: European bison, or bison (Bison bonasus) and american bison, or the American buffalo (Bison bison). Bison are distinguished by a massive body structure, they have a powerful rib cage, and the withers protrude with a hump. These animals belong to the order Artiodactyla (artiodactyla). The bison is in many ways similar to a large cow. These species are indeed so close that they can interbreed.

Even 150 years ago, the bison population was incredibly large. In open american prairies their gigantic herds included hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of heads. Due to the hunting of bison, the populations of these animals were destroyed on both continents. Already by 1920 bison disappeared from the wild, and the number of American bison was reduced to several hundred heads. Scientists sounded the alarm, and thanks to their active actions, this giant was saved. Today, about 3,200 bison live on the territory of Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Lithuania. The American bison population is much larger: there are now about half a million of these animals. Such a number is due, in particular, to the fact that bison are bred on private ranches.

Although bison live mainly in reserves and sanctuaries, they are also released outside of these areas. Therefore, today in social behavior these animals have features characteristic of the huge herds common in the past.

Unlike the American bison, the bison lives in wooded area so his diet is more varied.

Due to the insignificant population of bison, they cannot form large herds. Therefore, conclusions about their behavior are made on the basis of observations by scientists of the 18th and 19th centuries. after the American bison, since the way of life of this species in many ways resembles the features of the existence of the bison.

Life in the herd

Most of the year bison live in small herds. The main social unit is a group of related females and their offspring - newborn cubs and calves aged 1 to 3 years. Bulls live as hermits or small bachelor groups. This state of affairs changes during the mating season, called the rut. During this period, males join the female herds.

Usually a herd of bison consists of 10-20 heads. It is controlled by the eldest female, who is the mother and grandmother of most members of the group. The daily diet of bison should be 2-3% of their body weight, so the herd is in constant motion. They devastate pastures very quickly and often have to move to a new place. Unlike American bison, which graze in the meadows, bison seek food in the forest. All year round they feed on leaves, bark and branches, in spring their diet is replenished with tender grass and greens, and in autumn - mushrooms, acorns, nuts and fruits.

Bison have a keen sense of smell, which they need in order to recognize the presence of other animals. This is especially important for the bison, which lives in the forest.

Bison herds have very close family relationships. There are cases when bison come to the bodies of their dead relatives, as if they were visiting them. This behavior makes bison related to elephants.

herd structure

During the rut season, many herds come together. Since bison live in the forest, their common herd cannot be numerous, but American bison form herds of several thousand animals. Merging of herds occurs not only during the mating season, but also, for example, in spring, when bison go in search of food and water, or in autumn for joint migration. Herds living in mountainous areas can move to lowland areas by winter, while covering distances of up to 500 km. Today, such migrations are much less spectacular than they were during the time of the large population of these animals, when herds of millions of bison migrated together.

However, bison herds do not always unite. For example, during harsh winters, when it is incredibly difficult to find food and every animal is fighting for survival, the herds are divided into several groups.

Cold climatic conditions not afraid of bison. With massive heads, they dig up snowdrifts, the height of which reaches half a meter, and get to grass, lichens and moss. In winter, water is usually not available, so bison eat snow. To conserve strength in the cold, the herd moves as little as possible. When snow and ice make it difficult to forage in the harshest winters, bison still decide to travel in search of food. Often this turns into disaster: every two out of three bison die, and the survivors lose a lot of strength and suffer from exhaustion. In the spring, they tend to quickly replenish their fat stores in order to get into a healthy shape during the rutting season.

Gon

Like other artiodactyls, once a year European bison have a rutting season that lasts from August to October. At this time, bulls demonstrate their superiority over each other in order to gain the right to mate with females in a fight.

Late summer, rutting season. These bulls in the prairies of South Dakota (USA) fought for the right to mate with a female. Their main weapons are strong foreheads and muscular shoulders.

The competition of males begins with a roar competition, which is heard within a radius of several kilometers and demonstrates the strength and endurance of bulls. To prove its superiority, the buffalo bows its head, beats with its hoof, raises its tail, and sometimes butts a tree. At this moment, one of the participants in the confrontation usually recognizes the strength of the opponent and retreats. However, it happens that the conflict between the males arises again, when the pair has already formed, and the bulls begin to attack each other. A strong forehead allows the buffalo to use its head as a battering ram, and the characteristic withers, formed by powerful muscles, help to hold strong blows. Violent battles of males do not last long, and sometimes rivals get seriously injured.

The rutting period for bulls is very stressful, since only the strongest male can mate with females and pass on their genes to the next generations. At this time, they eat little and lose up to 10% of body weight. The whole herd becomes much more restless and aggressive than usual, and it is during the rut that the buffalo pose the greatest danger.

That bull, which defended its superiority in battles, mates with most of the females in the herd and does not leave it for several months. At the end mating season male returns to bachelor life. Sometimes the same bull leads the battle for many years until he is defeated by a younger and stronger male. From that moment on, the defeated bison leads a solitary lifestyle.

The bull usually mates with females from the herd in September and October. A pregnant female carries a cub for 9 months and leaves the herd before giving birth. She brings one calf. It differs from adult animals in its characteristic red-brown color. After an hour or two, the calf is able to stand on its own, but the mother returns to the herd only when the baby is a few days old and can keep up with the herd. For the first few months, babies do not move far from their mother. Females fiercely protect calves, and predators do not risk approaching a female with a cub.

The coat color of these young American bison is rather dull: most calves are usually dark reddish-brown. Brown color. Babies are born in the spring, when pastures abound with food.

Youth education

Newborn calves do not have characteristic withers. It begins to form when the baby is two months old. Calves try to nibble grass a few weeks after birth, but for another 6-8 months they feed on their mother's milk. After two or three years, young males leave the herd to form small bachelor groups. By this time, the females reach sexual maturity, but remain with the herd. Bulls complete development only by the age of five or six.

In such a strong and large animal as a bison, in wild nature few enemies. Early settlers in North America considered it the second most endangered wild animal after the grizzly bear. The European bison has an unpredictable character: a calm state during a stay on a pasture can instantly change into aggressiveness.

Zubram is not afraid of such natural enemy like a wolf. Bison have excellent hearing and smell, and although they cannot see small details, they catch any movement for half a kilometer. Despite the huge body mass, bison are surprisingly agile and mobile. An adult animal is very hardy, can run at speeds up to 50 km / h and jump over a 2-meter fence or a river of three meters wide. In the event of an attack, the bison usually butts or tramples the enemy, inflicts strong blows with its hind legs and injures with sharp horns.

The European and American bison species are descended from a hoofed ancestor that survived ice Age, which is why modern bison are resistant to cold. European species penetrated through Siberia and the Isthmus of Alaska to North America and separated into a separate species.

Most predators only attack weak members of the herd, such as newborns, old or sick animals. But in any case, predators are afraid to approach a herd of bison one by one. In the event of an attack by enemies such as a pack of wolves, the herd forms a circle, in the center of which the calves remain.

american bison

The build of the American bison is heavier than that of the bison, its withers are larger, but the body is somewhat smaller in size, and the horns are thinner. The American bison is less wary of humans. He is much louder than the bison. Communication plays a very important role in the numerous herds of American bison, which occupy larger spaces than bison.

Such differences in social organization bison and bison, obviously, explain the more massive body structure of the American species. Since the herds are predominantly large, the rivalry between the bulls is very intense. To win the battles, the male American bison must make a lot of effort.

Bison (Bisonbison) is a mammalian artiodactyl animal belonging to the family of bovids. This animal is one of the largest inhabiting the territory of North America.

On the edge of death

By the time colonizers settled North America, the number of bison on this continent was about 60 million individuals. Individual herds numbered up to 20-30 thousand animals. The indigenous inhabitants of these lands - the Indians - hunted bison solely to meet basic needs:

• for food;
• making clothes;
• providing the tribe with weapons, which were horns and bones;
• the skin of a bison was used to shelter the dwelling.

It cannot be said that the life activity of the Indians greatly influenced the number of these artiodactyls. But with the advent of immigrants from Europe to the mainland, a rapid and sharp decline in bison populations in North America begins. Their killing was turned into fun by the colonialists, and with the commercial and industrial revolution that began in Europe, the extermination of animals was put on stream. The destruction was carried out by both white hunters and Indians, who in return were promised firearms, whiskey, knives, gunpowder. In those days, the skin of bison and their meat were in demand. main reason mass murder was the desire to deprive indigenous people the foundations of existence, and, as a result, lead the Indians to starvation.

As a result of bloody atrocities, by the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 800 animals in the New World. In 1907, the first attempts were made by the government to save the endangered species: reserves and national parks were created, laws were passed prohibiting unauthorized shooting. These measures made it possible to increase the number to several tens of thousands of heads.

bison subspecies

Two subspecies of animals are known:

• forest;
• steppe.

Wood bison are larger than steppe relatives. Distinctive feature steppe is the presence of a throat located directly under the chin. In wood bison, this organ has not reached its final development.

Habitats

The habitat of these artiodactyl mammals is strictly defined by the boundaries National parks. Now they live in Canada and the northern borders of the United States.

On the territory of Russia, bison are not found in the wild. In 2006, the Canadian authorities donated 30 wood bison to the Ust-Buotama nursery (Republic of Sakha) - this species is listed in the Red Book. The nursery plans to revive the forest buffalo population on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Appearance

Bison are one of the largest mammals in North America. The body has a massive structure and reaches a length of 3 meters. characteristic of the animal broad shoulders and low hips. The height at the withers is up to 2 meters due to the hump, the length of the vertebrae in which is 30-33 cm. The legs are low, but strong and dense due to the large number of muscles. Adult males reach a weight of more than a ton. Females are more modest - 700-800 kg.

The animal has a powerful wide forehead, short hollow horns, a low-set head with small black, barely noticeable eyes. The body of the animal is covered with thick dark dark brown hair. On the head, shoulders and chest, the hairline is longer, on the chin it looks like a beard. The hair on the front of the body grows up to 50 cm. The pile on the back is shorter.

The coat has a brown color, sometimes brown. There are individuals of black-brown color. Cubs are born light brown or red, then the color of the pile darkens, the coat becomes more rigid.

Habits and lifestyle

Bison live in herds that number several thousand animals. The top of the hierarchy belongs to several large males, constantly defending their leading positions during numerous fights. Females with cubs and other males often form separate herds.

Bison have well developed eyesight and sense of smell. They are able to smell a stranger who is several kilometers away. Bison are generally calm animals, but, sensing danger, they quickly go on an aggressive offensive. When attacking a herd of wolves or coyotes, adults protect the young by driving away predators with their powerful horns and hooves. As a rule, wolves attack calves, trying to take them away from the female and relatives. AT summer months strong and well-fed animals give a worthy rebuff to the attackers. Despite their impressive size, bison are agile and fast. They are able, if necessary, to gallop, developing a speed of 50 km / h, i.e. equal to the speed of a horse, and overcome vertical obstacles more than 1.5 m high. In winter, bison are weakened by a lack of food, low temperatures, snow drifts, which are difficult to wade through. This gives predators many opportunities for a successful outcome of the attack.

Huge animals are excellent swimmers. This ability is necessary for them during movements to new pastures. In summer, they easily cross rivers. In winter and, especially, in spring, crossing frozen rivers is associated with great danger. The ice in some areas cannot support the weight of the animal. The beast that fell into the icy water is doomed to death.

Bison are herbivores. During the summer abundance, their diet is grassy meadow grasses, some species eat tree leaves, shrub branches and young shoots. In winter they feed on moss and lichen. They find food under snowdrifts up to 1 meter deep, using their massive muzzle to dig through the snow.

In the summer, animals are gaining weight intensely. The daily norm of consumed vegetation is 23-25 ​​kg. Food enters one of the chambers of the stomach, where cellulose is broken down under the influence of enzymes. Then they burp the mess, after which they chew it thoroughly again. The food then passes through three other sections of the stomach, where the process of digestion continues, and enters the intestines.

Reproduction and education of offspring

From May to September, bison begin the rutting season. This is a hot time for males, bloody battles for the location of the female do not stop in the herd. Skirmishes sometimes end in fatal wounds. Mating fights are always accompanied by a low, thick roar that can be heard at a distance of 8 km in calm weather. During the breeding season, the herd breaks up. Females with one-year-old calves and males graze separately. In autumn, after the end of the period of "weddings", the herd reunites.

Dominant males will fertilize several females, collecting harems, but the choice of a worthy one is still up to the female. Having won the battle, the bull is not always to his taste, and the female runs away from him. Bulls can follow an estrus female for about a week until she "melts". After sexual intercourse, the duration of which does not exceed 20 seconds, the bull stays next to the female for some time, then goes in search of a new passion.

9 months after fertilization, a cub is born (in very rare cases, two). Before giving birth, the mother leaves her relatives, looking for a secluded place. Sometimes she does not have time to leave, and childbirth takes place in the herd. In this case, other buffaloes “fall down” with licks on the newborn, which displeases the mother. Instead of resting and helping the baby recover, she is forced to drive them away. Newborn cubs of bison weigh 18-20 kg. They do not have horns, limbs are disproportionately long, like many newborn ungulates. For a calf, the first hours of life are the most critical: within the first 10 minutes, he must stand firmly on his feet, and after an hour, he must already run next to his mother in the herd.

For the first few months, the calf feeds on mother's milk and quickly gains weight, gaining a mass of 300 kg by the year. Young animals are always under the supervision of adults, because playful and careless calves are easy prey for predators. Another danger to the cubs - harsh winter. Not having time to get stronger and gain enough fat, individuals do not survive in severe frosts. According to statistics given by the staff of the Yellowstone National Park, half of the cubs in the herd do not live up to the age of one.

Bison reach sexual maturity at 4 years old. Males are especially vulnerable at this time - they still cannot compete with older and stronger individuals, and often get seriously injured in fights. In the wild, the life expectancy of animals is an average of 20 years. In captivity, some individuals live up to 25 years.

Video: bison (Bison bison)

Niramin - Feb 29th, 2016

American bison (lat. Bison bison) live in North America. As early as the beginning of the 18th century, there were more than 600 million livestock of these animals within the mainland. Huge herds of these animals migrated almost all over the continent, moving from one pasture to another. The herds were so numerous that during migrations they even blocked the movement of trains. However, the offensive white man on the nature of North America and the unbridled hunting of these mighty animals led to a sharp reduction in their numbers. Only at the beginning of the twentieth century, bison were taken under protection. Today, these animals can be found mainly in national parks and reserves. In the wild, bison are almost never found.

The American bison looks like its European counterpart, the bison, but differs from it in more large size. The body length of a bison can reach up to 3 meters, and the height at the withers is about 2 meters. The color of the thick shaggy coat is predominantly gray and brown. On the neck and head the coat is darker almost black. The thick coat protects the bison from severe frosts winter and summer heat. The bison's head is crowned with short thick horns. A wide forehead and a hump on the nape give the front of the body more massiveness. Short powerful legs enable the bison to move easily and quickly, developing a speed greater than that of a horse.

Bison eat plant foods. There are some differences in gastronomic preferences among different types. Steppe bison prefer grass, which each individual can eat about 25 kg per day. Wood bison have a more varied menu. In addition to grass, they use moss, lichen, tree rags.

bison live huge herds, led by several strong males. They keep a vigilant eye on their harem and cubs, fiercely protecting them from predators. An adult healthy bison has almost no enemies, as he is able to fight back even a grizzly and a wolf.

See the gallery of photos of American bison:

Photo: Bison in the snow.





Bison25

Video: Steppe bison One of the symbols of America

Video: Bison Battle - Yellowstone - BBC

Video: national geographic. Buffalo. Forest heavyweight

No other animal embodies the richness of the prairie and its merciless exploitation to such an extent as the American bison (Bison bison). It is hard to imagine that it was once inhabited by 60 million bison. It must have been an incredible sight when herds of over 1000 animals gathered in the grassy steppe in the summer. An estimated 250,000-350,000 bison live in American national parks and animal farms today.

THE BIGGEST WILD BULLS

The bison is the largest mammal in North America. Bulls reach 2 m at the withers, body length 3.5 m, weight 1000 kg. Females are smaller and lighter, but their appearance no less impressive. The powerful skull of a bison with a pronounced withers towering above it is “crowned” with two short horns and a thick “cap of hair” between them. The length of the hair reaches 50 cm, the back has a short hairline and appears relatively thin. Bison, as a rule, have a brown color, but there are also gray, spotted and white individuals.

Bison and bison (Bison bonasus) due to phylogenetic development (phylogeny, phylogeny - the process of historical development of organisms, or evolution organic world both in general and various types, classes, orders, families, genera, species) are very close relatives, so they can even be crossed. About 140,000 years ago, the bison's ancestors migrated from Eurasia to America across what was then the land bridge between the Asian and American continents. The results of the analysis of hereditary factors of bison bones make it possible to understand that abrupt change climate about 37,000 years ago destroyed most the then population, as a result of which the distribution and further genetic development of bison stopped. From once much more diverse species The only survivors of the genus were the European bison and the American bison. Two subspecies have developed in America: the American prairie bison (Bison bison bison) and the larger and darker American wood bison (Bison bison athabascoe). Wood bison are found only in a remote part of Wood Buffalo's National Park. They have good vision, hearing and acute sense of smell. They sense danger at a distance of up to 2 km. Animals take great care of their skins. They rub against tree trunks with pleasure and love to take sand and dust baths.

PERMANENT MOVEMENT

Herds of bison roam the steppe in search of food. They eat daily a large number of herbs and herbaceous plants. Bison graze mainly in the morning and evening hours, and spend the afternoon calmly, slowly chewing their cud. Despite their clumsy physique, they can reach speeds of up to 50 km / h. It is difficult to talk about the lifestyle of bison in the past: they were exterminated before they were studied. In autumn, many herds traveled south, traveling up to 650 km in search of the best pastures, and the next spring they returned to their summer pastures located to the north. The bison endured bad meteorological conditions easily. They could easily dig up lichens, mosses and dry grass with their heads from under a thick cover of snow.

SOUL OF THE PRAIRIE

Nomadic life has made bison an important factor in maintaining the stability of the prairie ecosystem. Seeds get stuck in their wool, which, during long raids of animals, fall off in another place. Thus, they contribute to maintaining the diversity of steppe vegetation.

It has already been proven that bison did not have an innate habit of wandering. Today, they do not try to escape from animal farms or leave reserves if they have enough food at their disposal. Within a group, animals stay close to each other. Wolves, for example, very rarely succeed in isolating a buffalo, but even so, the outcome of the upcoming battle is often unclear. By the time the calves are born - between March and July - cows are sometimes isolated, but many give birth to their cubs while in the herd. The duration of pregnancy is from 270 to 300 days. One cub, rarely two. A newborn calf can stand for 30 minutes and follow the herd a few hours later. Babies feed on mother's milk for about 9 months, and reach puberty at 3 years.

LIFE WAY OF THE PRAIRIE INDIANS

From the middle of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century, some Indian tribes lived almost exclusively by hunting buffalo. Unlike whites, who shot animals for pleasure, the Indians used the captured beast almost completely: meat was a source of food, stocks were made from it (they dried it for the winter), clothes and tents were made from fur and leather, tools and toys were made from bones. The meaning of the bison for the Indians is reflected in the myths. According to legend, a woman named White Buffalo brought the sacred pipe to the Indians and taught them to pray to the Great Spirit with her.

The leader of the Oglala Sioux tribe Black Elk (1863-1952) told the American ethnologist Joseph Epes Brown about her disappearance: “After going around the tent in the direction of the sun, the sacred woman began to move away, but then again looked back at the people and sat down. When she got up, everyone, to their surprise, saw that she had become a red-brown buffalo cub. This cub walked a little, lay down and began to wallow. He looked at the people, and when he got up, he turned out to be a white buffalo. He became even more distant from people, stopped and after bowing to all four sides of the Universe, disappeared behind a hill, so that during the end of the world in the form of a White Buffalo woman, he would return again and bring peace to the Earth.

MERCIOUS EXTERMINATION

Around 1830, the shooting of bison for sale began. fresh meat workers. Travelers shot animals by the thousands right from the trains. The herds were divided into northern and southern populations. The livestock in the south was exterminated in 1871-1875, in the north - in 1880-1884.

In 1889, of the 60 million bison that once inhabited the prairie, about 800 individuals remained. The fact that this tiny population was saved is the great merit of William T. Hornday, who in 1905 founded the American Buffalo Society and advocated the creation of reserves. There are currently between 250,000 and 350,000 bison living in North America.

game bison

Mad cow disease and hormone scandals have increased the demand for bison meat. Due to their strength, bison cope very well with adverse weather conditions. They can be kept outdoors, and only in winter do they need special food. To keep game bison, you must obtain permission from the veterinary department. Bison being tested for rabies

american bison, also known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison, millions of which once roamed the plains of North America. This species of cattle diverged from a common ancestral lineage with the buffalo and the African buffalo about 5–10 million years ago. Photo of a bison.

The historical habitat of these mammals was a vast area between the Great Bear Lake in northwestern Canada, Mexican states Durango and Nuevo Leon in the south, along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Florida. These animals were also seen in North Carolina in 1750.

At the turn of the 9th and 20th centuries, they almost disappeared due to a combination of commercial hunting, slaughter for meat, and the importation of cattle diseases from the Old World into America.

To date, after saving this species from complete disappearance bison habitats are mostly limited to a few national parks and reserves.

american bison

The bison is species of large artiodactyl mammal of the bull family. It has a shaggy long body, dark brown coat in winter and lighter, light brown coat in summer. Head and body length can reach up to 3.5 m. Shoulder height varies from 152 cm to 186 cm. Typical weight ranges are from 460 to 988 kg in males and from 360 to 544 kg in females. Mature bulls tend to be significantly larger than cows. The head and forelimbs are massive, and both sexes have short, curved horns that can grow up to 61 cm in length.

There are two subspecies - steppe and forest bison. The forest is larger and heavier than the steppe within the same age and sex.

Bison are herbivores. Their daily schedule includes two-hour periods of grazing, resting, and chewing, and then moving to a new location. They make daily transitions in search of food throughout the summer. In the mountain valleys, these animals travel an average of 3.2 km per day. Summer ranges seem to depend on seasonal changes vegetation, intersection and size of feeding grounds and number of biting insects. The availability of water is also an important factor in migration.

The main habitats are river valleys, as well as prairies and plains. Them typical environment are open grasslands and semi-arid lands. They also graze in hilly or mountainous areas. Herds of bison in Yellowstone Park were encountered at an altitude of more than 2 thousand meters, and a herd that lives in the Henry Mountains region grazes in mountain valleys at an altitude of more than 3 thousand meters.

Differences from the European bison

Although they are superficially similar, the American bison and European bison show a number of physical and behavioral differences. The American look is a little heavier and has more short legs. Its body is more hairy, it is easier to tame than the bison, and breeds with livestock.

Even though bison are the closest relatives of livestock to cattle, they were never domesticated by Native Americans. Attempts at domestication by Europeans before the 20th century met with limited success. This animal has been described as having a wild and unruly character. Its maneuverability and speed combined with large sizes and weight make it difficult to contain the herd, as they can easily destroy most fencing systems.

Where does the bison live

Today these animals are in public and private herds. state park Custer in South Dakota is home to 1,500 individuals. This is one of the largest public herds in the world, but some scientists doubt the genetic purity of these animals. They claim genetically pure herds on public lands in North America can only be found in:

The Antelope Island herd in Utah, with 550-700 individuals, is one of the largest and oldest herds in the United States. True, recent genetic research showed that, like most American bison, the bison on Antelope Island have livestock genes. Researchers estimate that there are only 12,000–15,000 purebreds in the world. Most hybrids have been found to look exactly like purebred bison, so the appearance of this animal is not indicative of purebredness.

In 2002 the United States government donated several bison from South Dakota and Colorado to the Mexican government. Their descendants live in Mexican reserves:

• El Uno Ranch in Janos;
• in Santa Elena Canyon;
• Chihuahua;
• Boquillas del Carmen;
• Coahuila off the south coast of the Rio Grande;
• around the pasture line next to Texas and New Mexico.

Bison and their offspring

To date about 30,000 individuals live on public lands which include environmental and state reserves. Approximately 15,000 bison are considered wild. In 2009 bison were reintroduced into biosphere reserve on Mexican federal soil. In 2014, the American tribes and the indigenous peoples of Canada signed a treaty to restore their population.

Social behavior and reproduction

Buffalo females live in mother herds that include other females and their offspring. Male offspring leave the mother herd at about the age three years, and the bison either lives alone or joins other males in bachelor herds. Male and female herds usually do not mix until the breeding season, which is from July to September. However, female herds may also contain a few adult males.

The bison has a lifespan of about 15 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity.

In some areas bison are regularly hunted by wolves. This usually occurs in late spring and early summer, with attacks usually concentrated on cows and calves. Healthy mature bulls in herds rarely become victims. Grizzly bears can also pose a threat to calves and sometimes old, injured or sick animals.

Bison are among the most dangerous animals in American and Canadian national parks. They can attack people even if they are not provoked. They seem slow, but easily catch up with a running person. Their running speed is about 60 km per hour.

American bison hunting was the main activity for the Midwesterners. American professional hunters later joined in, almost leading to the extinction of the species in 1890. After a large slaughter in 1800, the number of these animals in North America was reduced to 541 individuals.

After measures were taken to save this species, the number gradually began to increase. The size of the Canadian domesticated herd increased dramatically in the 1990s and 2000s. Below is the number of these animals in North America by year:

the main problem What bison are facing today is a lack of genetic diversity. Another genetic problem is the entry of genes from livestock into the population through hybridization. Many ranchers deliberately crossed it with a large cattle. The US National Bison Association has adopted a code of ethics that prohibits its members from knowingly crossing these animals with any other species.

Among the Indian tribes bison are considered sacred animals and a religious symbol. Images of these animals are often used in North America for official seals, flags and emblems. In 2016, the American bison became the national animal of the United States. It is a symbol of Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming, which have adopted this animal as an official state symbol, and many sports teams chose him as a mascot. In Canada, he is the official animal of the province of Manitoba and is depicted on the coat of arms of the mounted police.