The Making of a Diorama
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Recreating Nature Indoors
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Do Dolphins Have Hair?
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Plains bison
Bison (Bos) bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758)
Scene:
October morning: looking westward toward the Big Horn Mountains in north central WyomingBackground artist:
Duncan Alanson SpencerThe bison is the largest living land mammal native to the Western Hemisphere. Bison migrated from Asia into North America about 200,000 years ago.
Bison were hunted almost to extinction during the nineteenth century but today the bison population exceeds 400,000 individuals, more than half of which live on private farms and ranches.
The bison in this exhibit were obtained from Antelope Island in Utah's Great Salt Lake. They were first displayed in 1925 and at that time constituted the world's largest exhibit of a single species.
Biological Information
Range:
Central North America south of 55°N and northern Mexico. Nearly all herds now confined by fences
Habitat:
Mixed grass and short grass prairies
Status:
Plains bison secure in U.S.A. but wood bison (B. bison athabascae) is endangered in northwestern Canada
Diet:
Grass
Further information about this species may be found on the Animal Diversity Web page for American bison.