American bison Facts

About the american bison

Around 9000 BC, bison ranged across a grassland belt stretching between Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, then east toward the Atlantic Seaboard, reaching as far north as New York and south to Georgia. Two subspecies are described. Plains bison are smaller, with a rounder hump. Wood bison are larger, with a taller, square hump, and they rank among the biggest wild bovids anywhere, topped only by the Asian gaur.

Huge herds once covered that range, with an estimated 60 million animals in the late 18th century. In the 19th century, commercial hunting and mass slaughter, along with diseases spread from domestic cattle, nearly wiped the species out, and by 1889 only 541 were left. That loss also struck Native American communities, whose traditional way of life depended on the bison.

Did you know?

• Bison were reportedly seen near Buffalo Ford on North Carolina's Catawba River as late as 1750.
• The American bison is one of two living bison species, along with the European bison.
• One proposal would split plains bison into northern and southern subspecies, but it has limited scientific support.