So I have noticed a lot of news articles about animals of this species making an escape from their pastures. So I decided that this week's featured animal will be: The American Bison
We do have some bison at Wildlife Safari.
Anyways. Bison bison, or the American Bison, is native to North America. They can live 12-20 years on average. You don't even want to know how heavy they get, other than really, really heavy. These guys have fur coats so thick, that snow doesn't even melt when it lands on them. Talk about good insulation! Now I know why the natives used these guys for bedding.
They are considered Near Threatened by the ICUN Red List, as opposed to how it used to be (Critically Endangered). For the most part, these guys stay in fairly small family groups. But they congregate into the huge herds that they are famous for during the summer, which is mating season.
Males will fight each other for mating rights. Females are only fertile during a 2-3 day period, which is only the one time for the entire mating season. So if a male doesn't find her, she doesn't get pregnant. If a male does find her, then a calf will be born about 9 months later.
They used to be far more numerous, before white settlers came. Afterwards, they were slowly killed off until there were only a few hundred in the world, most of which were in captivity. But thanks to conservation programs, they are back to a healthy population and staying that way. While they likely won't be at the same numbers as they used to be, they are doing a lot better now.
sources:
- http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/american-bison/
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/classify/2815/0
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