TheAmerican bison (also calledAmerican buffalo or justbuffalo) is a species ofbison, abovinemammal. The name "buffalo" is amisnomer, because the bison is only distantly related to thewater buffalo and theAfrican buffalo.
Bison are akeystone species. They once roamed theNorth Americancontinent in great herds, and theirgrazing helped in shaping theecology of theGreat Plains. However, buffalo hunters killed a massive number of bison. There used to be as many as 30 million bison in the United States, but because of hunting, by the year 1890, only 1,000 bison were left.[2]
The bison has a large head with relatively small, curvinghorns. Its dark brown coat is long and shaggy on the forequarters, including the front legs,neck, andshoulders, while the rest of the body has shorter, finer hair.
American bison live in rivervalleys, onprairies, and onplains. Their typicalhabitat is open or semi-opengrassland, as well assagebrush, semi-arid lands andscrublands. Bison will also graze in hilly or mountainous areas where the slopes are not steep.
Though not particularly known as high-altitude animals, bison in theYellowstone Park are frequently found atelevations above38,000 feet (12,000m). The bison herd on the plains and valleys around theHenry Mountains in Utah go up to an altitude of10,000 feet (3,000m).
Although bison once roamed acrossNorth America, they are now ecologicallyextinct over most of their historic range. They live on in a fewnational parks and other smallwildlife areas.
There used to be as many as 30 million bison in the United States, but because of hunting, by 1890, only 1,000 bison were left.[2] Throughconservation efforts, there are now more American bison than there used to be, but still far fewer than there were before the 1800s.
