Yellowstone NP Wild | American Bison This Bison image comes from Lamar Valley on a cold February afternoon. Notice his heavy winter coat to protect him from Yellowstone’s hard, long winter. Bison are year round grazers requiring water every day. They eat primarily grasses, but will also eat flowering plants, lichens, and woody plant leaves. In the winter, they sweep their heads from side to side to clear the snow. Bison lose so much weight from fall to spring just trying to survive the Yellowstone Winter, over nine percent of adult bison die during the winter.
The American Bison, also call Bison Bison, is our National Mammal and symbolic of the Great Plains. It’s largest land animal in North America. At one time millions roamed in herds across the grasslands of The Great American Prairie. A mature Bison stands 5-6 feet tall weighing 1,800 to 2,400 pounds. They can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour. Just like much of the Great American Prairie has gone the way of the plow; so most of the Bison have gone. Today, small herds are live in Canada and the USA; mostly in state and national parks like Wind Cave NP, Custer State Park, and Yellowstone NP. With about 5,000 Bison, Yellowstone NP has North America’s largest population of wild Bison and is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since the prehistoric times of the last ice age. Also, see American Bison | a 7 Image Story for more information and images of the American Bison.
For the whole story with all images, see Yellowstone NP Wild | a 7 Image Story.
