The American Bison National Mammal Of USA
President Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act on May 9, 2016 making the North American bison the official National Mammal of the United States. Yay!
Bison have poor eyesight and form groups called herds most of which are females. Males (bulls) sometimes live in bachelor groups until breeding season, then challenge each other for a female (cow).
Bison breeding season is between June-September, peak season between July and August. Bison are very protective of their young. They will form a circle to protect the calf from predators.
The cow has one calf. Calves have all of their teeth when born. They have little knobbies on their head which will develop into horns as they grow. Both males and female Bison have horns.
Bison like to roll in dirt and rub against trees. This may be helpful in getting some of the loose fur off of them during shedding periods.
Bison are very unpredictable and aggression can occur without warning. They attack or charge with their heavy head and horns. My husband and I once were lost in Montana. It was 1 am. As we were driving around the steep hills and sharp curves of the road, a bison stood in the middle of the road and wouldn't move. We stopped the car, which was a tiny Camaro, and waited for the animal to move out of the way. As we waited for quite some time, we finally decided to drive past it. Mr Bison wasn't happy about that and chased us swinging his giant head at our car. The bison nearly knocked us off of the cliff.
Some people in Yellowstone National Park ignore the signs that say, DO NOT GET OUT OF YOUR CAR! People try to take selfies with bison and have been gored. Bison are wild animals, and extremely powerful. Please be respectful of them, and give them their space. Lots of Space!
To
learn more about the American Bison as the United States National Mammal, go to
http://nationalmammal.org/