Diet The American bison is a grazer.

Plains bison once roamed freely across the North American Great Plains with an estimated population of 30-60 million individuals.The species was forced to the brink of extinction by European settlers in the 1800’s. They are massive, shaggy beasts and the heaviest land animals in North America. At the time plains bison were introduced, it was not known that a small population of wood bison existed in Canada. Wood bison disappeared from Alaska several hundred years ago, probably the result of hunting and changing habitat. Thanks to these and other bison reintroductions, there are now about 2,200 plains bison and about 11,000 wood bison roaming wild in Canada.However, these still small numbers mean populations remain vulnerable to habitat loss, disease and with domesticated bison that have cattle genes. Grasslands National Park provides ideal habitat for Plains bison, and the herd at Grasslands has grown consistently since their reintroduction in late 2005. Habitat: Bisons are known to live in plains, prairies and river valleys.

Plains Bison. Despite their hefty size, bison are quick on their feet. He dips his head—a burly, mussed mass of fur caked with snow—and sweeps his muzzle across the snow.

The plains are cold and blanketed in snow, and he is hungry.

Their curved, sharp horns can grow to be 2 feet (61 centimeters) long. Habitat The American bison live on plains, prairies and river valleys. When the need arises they can run at speeds up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) an hour. Bison bison bison. In its natural habitat, a bison usually stays in a herd and the herd takes care of itself.

It will occasionally eat berries and lichen. The smaller plains bison thrived further south, and formed the famous buffalo herds of the American Great Plains.

In the early 1800’s around 168,000 wood bison lived in Canada and Alaska . A bison exhales and the frigid winter air condenses the moisture to a fog.

Another snort, another sweep. By 1900, the entire North American bison population is estimated to have been less that 1000 individuals (a 99.99% decline in the population). In winter, the bison uses its head and hooves to move snow off the vegetation. In the absence of large predators, the herd size must be managed to protect the health of the animals and to prevent overgrazing. Larger than plains bison, the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) is a subspecies of American bison that is specially adapted to live in northern meadows and boreal forest habitats. Bison are the iconic image of the Great Plains and the Old West.