Did you know that the bison is the biggest animal in north America? Well if you didn't, this will help you learn more about the bison. The male is about 6 feet high (8.1 meters). The female is about 5 feet high (1.5 meters). Bison came from Asia 1,000's of years ago. Most bison live in the Rocky Mountains west of the Mississippi river. The bison make grunts, snorts and bellows to talk. They eat mainly grasses, tree shoots, berries and acorns. I think it's so amazing that the bison has a bluish-purple tongue that is long enough to clean it's nose.

The plains Indians in North America used every part of the bison. The children picked up the droppings of the bison and used it to make fire. The bison have very few enemies besides man. Wolves used to be one of their enemies but they are almost extinct. They would get in a pack and run them out. Mountain lions used to hunt them too.

I got my information from BUFFALO, THE AMERICAN BISON STORY by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and THE BISON by Carl Green.

There use to be 60,000,000 bison but now there are only about 9,000 bison. The bison eat grass to survive. The bison is the biggest land animal in America. The bison's weight is about the same as 10 adult men put together. They weigh up to 2,200 pounds. The baby bison weighs 400 pounds. The babies horns are 7 inches long.

The bison's enemies are humans, grizzly bears, mountain lions and wolves. The bison can push away piles of snow more than 3 feet deep. A bison can see something from half a mile away.

I got my information from Nature's Children, BISON By Laima Dingwall.

Illustrated by Matthew M.

It is a warm sunny day in the prairie and you see a big brown animal. It is eating some prairie grasses. It may be a bison! They are also called buffalo. Then you see a cougar. It looks as if it is about to attack. It is! The cougar, grizzly bear and wolves are enemies of the bison. Then you see the cougar jump, the bison starts to run. You think the bison is running about 35 miles per hour. It is. The bison starts running toward you. You notice that this buffalo is humongus. It is 6.5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. You are so afraid that you stand still. The bison can not see you if you stand still. It keeps running. You jump out of its way just in time. The cougar finally gets the bison. Indians used all the parts of the buffalo. They used the hides for robes, moccasins, clothing, tepee coverings, shields, boats and even coffins.

I got my information from AMERICAN BISON by Ruth Berman, THE BISON by Carl Green, and THE BISON AND THE GREAT PLAINS by Dave Taylor.

A bison wanders around on the plains while it eats grass with its herd. It keeps a look-out for wolves on the prowl for baby bison. The bison herd will huddle around the babies to protect them. If a wolf comes too close, the bison will kick it with its hooves. Bison live on grasslands, prairies and in the Rocky Mountains. They weigh between 1800 and 2000 pounds. They are the biggest land animals in North America. Relatives are goat, sheep, musk-ox, yak, and ox. The two kinds of bison are wood bison and plains bison. The bison's enemies are grizzly bears, packs of wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions. Special features are grooves in the feet, and a thick coat of fur. The outer layer of fur is waterproof.

I got my information from a book called THE BISON OF THE GREAT PLAINS by Dave Taylor.