Bison
The Bison is the largest land animal found in the United States. In North America they inhabit the plains and prairies of the Western part of the country as well as Canada. A European Bison also exists and lives in parts of Europe and along the Eurasian border.
Bison are huge and extremely powerful animals. They can weigh nearly 3,000 pounds and stand over 6 feet high at the shoulder. They have thick coats and shaggy beards and a distinctive hump at their shoulders. They are often confused with Buffalo which are similar in appearance but are only found in Africa.
The Bison was once an extremely plentiful animal whose populations were estimated to be well into the tens of millions. They were nearly driven to extinction in the 19th century and early 20th century in a mass slaughter conducted by the U.S. government in an attempt to crush the livelihood of Native Americans.
Conservation efforts have nominally restored the Bison population, but it is still a threatened species. Commonly raised for their meat, there are an additional estimated 500,000 that are bred as livestock in the U.S.
Bison are huge and extremely powerful animals. They can weigh nearly 3,000 pounds and stand over 6 feet high at the shoulder. They have thick coats and shaggy beards and a distinctive hump at their shoulders. They are often confused with Buffalo which are similar in appearance but are only found in Africa.
The Bison was once an extremely plentiful animal whose populations were estimated to be well into the tens of millions. They were nearly driven to extinction in the 19th century and early 20th century in a mass slaughter conducted by the U.S. government in an attempt to crush the livelihood of Native Americans.
Conservation efforts have nominally restored the Bison population, but it is still a threatened species. Commonly raised for their meat, there are an additional estimated 500,000 that are bred as livestock in the U.S.