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Home > Coniferous Forest Animals > Wood Bison

Wood Bison

The largest terrestrial mammal in North America, the wood bison is a dark brown bovine animal with a large head, a high hump on its shoulder, which is covered with long shaggy hair that extends to the front legs. The horns are short and black and tend to curve inward for the males, while being straight in females.

Bison Wood

Bison Wood

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderArtiodactyla
FamilyBovidae
SubfamilyBovinae
GenusBison
Scientific NameBison bison athabascae
Wood Bison Range

Wood Bison Range

Other NamesMountain Bison, Wood Buffalo, Mountain Buffalo
SizeFemales (cows) are shorter than the males (bulls);
Head-tail length: 3.04 metres to 3.80 metres;

Shoulder height: 1.67 m to 1.82 m

WeightMales: 2000lbs(900Kgs); Females: 1200lbs(550Kgs)
ColorDark Brown at maturity; Red at birth
DistributionForest regions of Alaska, Yukon, Western part of Canada’s Northwest territories, North-eastern British Columbia, Northern Alberta and North-western Saskatchewan
HabitatOpen boreal and aspen forests with large wet meadows and depressions left by ancient lakes
SoundsIt snorts, grunts, and growls; bulls use a loud, hollow noise to threaten each other during fights
Lifespan20 years; some have been known to live up to 40 years
DietGrazing on grasses, sedges and forbs. Summer diet includes silverberry and willow leaves.
AdaptationsCalves can stand within 30 minutes of birth and can run and kick hours after birth in order to ward off predators.
Diseases and ParasitesAnthrax, brucellosis and tuberculosis.
Number of offspringA  litter of 1 calf twice over a period of 3 years
Gestation Period270-300 days
PredatorsMainly wolves
IUCN Conservation StatusNear Threatened
Wood Bison Pictures

Wood Bison Pictures

Wood Bison Baby

Wood Bison Baby

Behavior

Female wood bison and their calves live in herds of 20 to 60 members. Adult males tend to live in smaller groups separate from the bigger groups of females and calves except during the mating season during the late summer. They are very protective of one another.

Mating and reproduction

A female wood bison reaches sexual maturity at 2 years of age and can produce her first litter by age 3. Their mating season starts from August and extends till around October. It would generally bear the calf for at least 9-10 months, and give birth during April-August. They generally give birth to a single calf, although have been known to produce twins on rare occasions.

Wood Bison Babies

Wood Bison Babies

Wood Bison

Wood Bison

Life Cycle

Calves are born with a red coat, which starts to darken by the 10th week, gradually culminating in a dark brown shade by the 15th week of their existence.

Wood Bison Size

Wood Bison Size

Woods Bison

Woods Bison

Interesting facts

  • The wood bison had actually been extirpated from Alaska and become endemic to Canada until they were reintroduced in the Alaskan boreal forests.
  • In spite of having a home range, wood bison migrate to greener meadows during seasonal changes.
  • In 2006, a herd of wood bison was established in Yakutia, Russia, where its relative the steppe bison became extinct over 6000 years ago.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_bison

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=woodbison.main

https://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/rs_wood_bison_e_proposed.pdf

Published on May 25th 2016 by Sudipto Chakrabarti under Coniferous Forest Animals.
Article was last reviewed on 5th December 2024.

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