Jessica Gardner, age 12, of Dekalb, I11., for her question:
HOW LARGE IS THE BISON?
The bison is the largest terrestrial or land animal in North America, where it is usually called buffalo. A mature bull of the North American bison will be about six feet five inches high at the front shoulder, from nine to 12 feet long and weigh between 1,800 and 2,400 pounds. This animal usually has a black beard about 12 inches long.
The bison is characterized by a hump over the front shoulders. Also, it has short, sharply pointed horns (in both the male and female) that curve outward and down from the sides of the massive head. The female is a much smaller animal than the male.
The head, neck, forelegs and front parts of the bison's body have a thick coat of long dark hair. The rear part of the body is covered with much shorter hair.
Until the 19th century, as many as 60 million bison lived on the Great Plains of North America from Mexico into Canada. Some were also found east of the Mississippi River.
The bison was important to the existence of the Plains Indians, who used them for food, hides and bone implements. The Indians even used the dried bison dung, which were called buffalo chips, as a fuel.
From 1830 to 1889 there was a methodical destruction of the bison by encroaching white settlers. The animals were killed for sport and hides until the number of bisons was reduced to less than 1,000.
Today about 30,000 bison live in protected areas and on certain ranches.
Bison are usually found in groups, except for old, solitary bulls. Most of the year females with young form small bands and immature bulls may stay with them. Mature males have their own groups.
The bands of bison may congregate in large herds in the spring or fall to search for food or water. Bison grunt to maintain contact with each other and snort to warn of intruders.
Aggressive, guttural roars are heard most often in rutting season, mainly July and August, when bulls go looking for cows and try to ward off rivals. Breeding bulls have little time to eat and often lose more than 200 pounds.
Gestation is eight to nine months and a single yellow red calf is born. After a few days the calf can keep up with the herd and it follows its mother until the following spring.
The bison originated in Eurasia and is one of the few members of the bovidae family to have crossed the Bering Strait land bridge in prehistoric times to North America, where two subspecies, the plains bison and the wood bison, survive.
The European bison, that is often called the wisent, is taller but lighter than the American bison. However, it is almost extinct and can be found only in limited numbers in parks and zoos.