Bison

The bison is North America's largest land animal, weighing up to 2,000 pounds or 1 ton, with males standing six feet at the shoulder. It eats vegetation and must consume at least 15 pounds daily. Once widespread from Alaska to northern Mexico, it is now found on private and protected land in the western US and Canada. Its hump is a set of powerful muscles that support and control the movement of its 75 pound head, which it uses like a plow to clear snow from grass. In Yellowstone National Park, five times as many people are injured by bison as by bears. Before European settlement, North America had 50 to 60 million bison, but after 1890 that number was reduced to 1,000; with restricted hunting, close to 50,000 survive today.

Norristown, Pennsylvania · United States