The bison is a very large animal. Adult males, or bulls, may be 1.7 m tall at the shoulder and weigh as much as 700 kg. Females, or cows, are much smaller, at about 1.5 m at the shoulder and weighing around 400 kg. Their long shaggy hair is chocolate brown over most of the body, but darker, almost black, on the head. They have short curved horns. Two large toes form a hoof on each foot. Bison eat grasses, sedges and many other low growing plants. They will eat many kinds of wildlfowers and even low shrubs and fruit like blueberries. Bison "chew their cud" like cows and other large plant eating animals. This means they eat and swallow quickly, then they bring up the food and chew it some more before swallowing again. In the winter the bison uses its nose like a snow plow to move the snow so it can eat the grass underneath it. There are 2 kinds of bison. The plains bison live in herds on the open prairies. Today, most plains bison live in parks, zoos or on farms. The wood bison lives in wooded areas. Today, only a few herds of wood bison live in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. A few wood bison have been released into Manitoba's interlake region.

Their main enemies are wolves and people. The bison's eyes can spot something 3/4 kilometre away and its nose can smell something 1 1/2 kilometres away. It also hears very well. These keen senses help the bison to quickly sense danger so it can quickly run away from its enemies. Their horns also help them to defend themselves. If danger gets too close bull bison will charge. For many years native people hunted bison for food and to make clothing. When European people came to the prairies they hunted bison for sport until their was almost no bison left.

Bison mate in late summer. It takes 9 month for a baby bison, called a calf, to be born. The cows give birth to 1 or 2 babies in the next spring. The cow leaves the herd to have her calf and then returns when the calf is able to walk. A calf will try to stand only a few minutes after it is born and will be able to run in a few hours. It must be able to keep up with the herd. The herd helps to keep the calf safe. The adults will defend all the calves in the herd. Calves drink their mother's milk for food. They start to eat grass and other plants when they are about 1 month old, but don't stop drinking milk until they are 7 months old.

Back to Animals of Manitoba.