The American Bison is commonly referred to as buffalo in
American Western culture. Bison is a taxonomic genus containing six
species of large even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae.
These videos and photos were taken near Lake LBJ in
Central Texas, November 27 2006.
The American and European Bison are the largest
terrestrial mammals in North America and Europe. Like their cattle
relatives, Bison are nomadic grazers and travel in herds, except for the
non-dominant bulls, which travel alone or in small groups during most of
the year. American bison are known for living in the Great Plains. Both
species were hunted close to extinction by "White Hunters" during the 19th
and 20th centuries but have since rebounded, although the European Bison
is still endangered.
Unlike the Asian Water Buffalo, the Bison has never
really been domesticated, although it does appear on farms occasionally.
It is raised now mostly on large ranches in the United States and Canada
for meat.
They live to be about 20 years old and are born without
their trademark "hump" or horns, which both sexes have. After shedding
their light faun-colored hair, and with the development of their horns,
they become mature at 2 to 3 years of age, although the males continue to
grow slowly to about age seven.
Buffalo
