PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
The American bison has a dark brown coat. On rare occasions the coat is grey, spreckled or green in color. Males are bigger than females and both have horns. The shoulders are huge and humped with the head carried low.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
HEAD TO BODY LENGTH: upto 3.8M (12 ft)
TAIL LENGTH: 90cm (3 ft)
Horn Length : 40cm (15.7in)
SHOULDER HEIGHT: 1.95M (6.5 ft)
WEIGHT: 545 – 818 kg (1200 – 1800 lbs)
RANGE : Western United States and Canada
HABITAT: Grasslands and open savannahs
FOOD: Grasses and sagebrush
STATUS : Endangered (Used to be in millions spread from Alaska to Mexico but reduced to 1000 in1890 but about 19000 in conservation centers)
REASON FOR STATUS : Habitat destruction and culling to prevent bovine tubercoloses
GESTATION PERIOD: 9 – 10 months
LIFESPAN: YRS IN WILD : 40 years – captivity / 15 – 20 years in the wild