American Bison

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*This page is under renovation and all information may not be up-to-date or complete*

Description

American bison are large, reddish-brown mammals with hooves and the heaviest land animal in North American.

Range & Habitat

This species can be found in the grasslands across Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

At the Virginia Zoo, you can find the American bison habitat in Flora Point.

Behavior

Bison are ruminants, just like cows and giraffes, which means they barely chew their food before swallowing and then regurgitate it hours later to chew on as “cud”.

Diet

Bison are grazers and primarily forage in grassland and meadow communities. Their diet is made up of mostly grasses, sedges, and low-lying shrubbery. They will occasionally eat berries and lichen.

Conservation

There were once millions of bison but in the 19th century, hunting and the habitat fragmentation due to the transcontinental railroad nearly eliminated our population throughout North America. The once enormous herds were reduced to only a few hundred animals, but thanks to conservation programs, there are now around 500,000 bison.

Fun Facts

• There are ten wild populations of wood bison within the natural range of the sub-species; all are in Canada.
• The bison became the United States National Mammal in 2016.

Virginia Zoo Animals

Female: Lily (born: 6/5/1998)