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Bison

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                   iBison
   European Bison, or Wisent
   European Bison, or Wisent
         Scientific classification

   Kingdom:   Animalia
   Phylum:    Chordata
   Class:     Mammalia
   Order:     Artiodactyla
   Family:    Bovidae
   Subfamily: Bovinae
   Genus:     Bison
              Hamilton Smith, 1827

                                   Species

   B. antiquus
   B. bison
   B. bonasus
   B. latifrons
   B. occidentalis
   B. priscus

   Bison is a taxonomic genus containing six species of large even-toed
   ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Only two of these species still
   exist: the American Bison, which is commonly referred to as "buffalo"
   in American Western culture, and the European Bison, or wisent. The
   gaur, a large, thick-coated ox found in Asia, is also known as the
   Indian Bison. Bison are distinct from buffalo, with the only two
   species holding that name being the Asian Water Buffalo and African
   Buffalo.

   The American and European Bison are the largest terrestrial mammals in
   North America and Europe. Like their cattle relatives, Bison are
   nomadic grazers and travel in herds, except for the non-dominant bulls,
   which travel alone or in small groups during most of the year. American
   bison are known for living in the Great Plains. Both species were
   hunted close to extinction by "White Hunters" during the 19th and 20th
   centuries but have since rebounded, although the European Bison is
   still endangered.

   Unlike the Asian Water Buffalo, the Bison has never really been
   domesticated, although it does appear on farms occasionally. It is
   raised now mostly on large ranches in the United States and Canada for
   meat. Although there are wild herds in Yellowstone and northern central
   Canada, Wood Bison.

   They live to be about 20 years old and are born without their trademark
   "hump" or horns, which both sexes have. After shedding their light
   faun-colored hair, and with the development of their horns, they become
   mature at 2 to 3 years of age, although the males continue to grow
   slowly to about age seven. Adult bulls express a high degree of
   dominance during mating season.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
