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An American bison with a shaggy brown coat standing in dry prairie grass.
Photo: Jack Dykinga, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

American Bison

Bison bison

A huge, shaggy grazer of North America that once numbered in the tens of millions and nearly disappeared.

🦓 Hoofed Mammals
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About the American Bison

American bison graze mainly on grasses, plus some flowering plants, lichens and leaves. A big male can stand 6.5 feet tall at the hump and weigh up to 2,400 pounds. Even so, bison can run up to 30 miles per hour. Bison live in groups that change with the season. A single yellow-red calf is born away from the herd and drinks its mother's milk for seven to eight months.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Bison bison[1]
Size
Males 5.5 to 6.5 feet tall at the hump and 9 to 12.5 feet long. Females about 5 feet tall and 7 to 10 feet long.[1]
Weight
1,800 to 2,400 pounds (816 to 1,088 kg).[1]
Lifespan
15 to 20 years.[1]
Diet
Herbivore. Mostly grasses, plus flowering plants, lichens and leaves of woody plants.[1]
Where it lives
Once Alaska to northern Mexico. Now parts of Canada and U.S. states including Montana, South Dakota, Utah, Arizona and Alaska.[1]
Group life
Groups organized by sex, age, season and habitat.[1]
Babies
A single yellow-red calf, born away from the herd, nurses for seven to eight months.[1]
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN Red List, assessed 2016).[2]

Fun facts

  • Before 1800 there may have been 30 to 100 million bison. By the 1890s fewer than 1,000 were left.[1]
  • Even though they are huge, bison can run up to 30 miles per hour.[1]
  • Bison shed their thick winter coats in spring by rolling on the ground.[1]
  • Bison don't see well, but they have excellent hearing and sense of smell.[1]

Vocabulary

graze
To feed on grass growing in a field.
hump
The large rounded bump on a bison's shoulders.
lichen
A crusty living thing made of a fungus and algae growing together.
herd
A large group of animals of one kind that live and travel together.
conservation
Protecting nature and wildlife so they last into the future.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “American bison.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/american-bison (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Bison bison (American Bison).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/2815/45156541 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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