Once 30 million strong and the keystone species of the Great Plains, American bison were reduced to fewer than 1,000 by 1889. Today around 31,000 live as wildlife in conservation herds — a fraction of the original, but a real comeback.

Also called: American Buffalo, Buffalo (misnomer — true buffalo live in Africa and Asia), Plains Bison

Native status: Native; species recovered, ecological role still diminished

§ Quick facts

SizeBody 2.1–3.5 m (7–11.5 ft); shoulder height 1.5–2.0 m
WeightBulls 460–1,000 kg (1,000–2,200 lb); cows 360–545 kg
LifespanWild 15–20 years; oldest documented 41
OrderArtiodactyla
FamilyBovidae

§ Encyclopedia

The American bison, commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo, is a species of bison that is endemic to North America. It is one of two extant species of bison, along with the European bison. Its historical range circa 9000 BC is referred to as the great bison belt, a tract of rich grassland spanning from Alaska south to the Gulf of Mexico, and east to the Atlantic Seaboard, as far north as New York, south to Georgia, and according to some sources, further south to northern Florida, with sightings in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as 1750.

Source: Wikipedia — American bison Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

§ Identification

Field marks. Massive bovid with hump-shouldered profile; chocolate-brown coat; short curved horns in both sexes; beard on chin; thick mane on shoulders. Calves born red, darken in first year.

Similar species. European Bison (slightly different proportions; Old World). Domestic cattle (very different proportions; no shoulder hump).

Voice. Snorts, grunts, bellowing roars (rut), wheezing.

§ Diet & behavior

Diet. Grasses, sedges (98% of diet); some forbs and woody browse. A single adult eats 13–14 kg of forage per day.

Behavior. National Mammal of the United States (designated 2016). Population crashed from ~30–60 million in 1500 to fewer than 1,000 by 1889 — among the most rapid wildlife collapses ever recorded — due to commercial hunting and US military extermination campaigns aimed at Plains tribes. Now ~500,000 in North America, but few are genetically pure (most have some cattle introgression). The Yellowstone herd is the largest free-ranging genetically pure population.

§ Range

Conservation herds in Yellowstone, the Great Plains, and tribal lands

§ Habitat

Native shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie, montane meadows

§ Threats

Habitat loss to industrial agriculture, brucellosis transmission concerns, narrow gene pools in many herds.

§ Conservation status

According to the IUCN Red List, the american bison is currently classified as Near Threatened.

§ What helps

Support tribal-led restoration (InterTribal Buffalo Council). Visit and donate to native-prairie reserves. Ask grocery stores about bison from regenerative ranches.

Support our work More ways to help

§ Further reading

§ Sources cited

  • USFWS National Bison Range
  • American Bison Society
  • Yellowstone Bison Project
  • IUCN Red List 2018