Bison, either of two species of oxlike grazing mammals that constitute the genus Bison. Hunting drastically reduced the populations of the American bison (B. bison), or buffalo, and the European bison (B. bonasus), or wisent, and now these animals occupy only small fractions of their former ranges.
The earliest members of the bison lineage, known from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of the Indian Subcontinent (Bison sivalensis) and China (Bison palaeosinensis), approximately 3.4-2.6 million years ago (Ma) are placed in the subgenus Bison (Eobison).
What makes Yellowstone's bison so special is that they're the pure descendants (free of cattle genes) of early bison that roamed our country's grasslands. As of July 2015, Yellowstone's bison population was estimated at 4,900—making it the largest bison population on public lands.
The American bison’s scientific name is Bison bison, and there are two recognized subspecies: the plains bison and the wood bison. Each subspecies has adapted to different environments and climates.
A bull bison skull collected in Montana by Smithsonian taxidermist William Temple Hornaday, who would go on to champion bison conservation through museum exhibits and displays of living bison behind the Smithsonian Castle Image credit: USNM A 22664, Division of Mammals, Department of Vertebrate ...
A familiar icon of the American West, the Plains bison (Bison bison bison), also commonly called buffalo, is one of two subspecies of the American bison, with the other being the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae).
Mark your calendar for all things bison as the museum celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary with a spotlight on the national mammal
Celebrate the Comeback of the American Bison this Spring at the ...