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bison

bison

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

bison large hoofed mammal, genus Bison, of the cattle family. Bison have short horns and humped, heavily mantled shoulders that slope downward to the hindquarters. The European bison, or wisent , Bison bonasus, has a less luxuriant mane and beard than the American species, B. bison.

The American bison is commonly called buffalo, but true buffalo are African and Asian animals of the same family. B. bison is characterized by a huge, low-slung head and massive hump; its legs are shorter than those of the wisent. Males may reach a shoulder height of over 5 ft (1.5 m), a body length of 9 ft (2.7 m), and a weight of 2,500 lb (1,130 kg). The winter coat of the American bison is dark brown and shaggy; it is shed in spring and replaced by a coat of short, light-brown fur. Bison graze on prairie grasses, migrating south in search of food in the winter.

They formerly roamed in vast herds over much of North America, especially on the Great Plains, and were hunted by Native Americans for their flesh and hides. With the arrival of European settlers they were subjected to a wholesale slaughter that resulted in their near extinction. They were killed for their tongues, regarded as a delicacy, and shot for sport from trains. At the beginning of the 19th cent. there were over 60 million bison in North America. By the middle of the century the bison was extinct E of the Mississippi, and by 1900 there remained only two wild herds in North America, one of plains bison in Yellowstone Park, and one of the larger variety, called wood bison, in Canada. Protective laws were passed beginning at the end of the last century, and the bison population has since risen from a few hundred to many thousands, although most bison not on federal lands have been hybridized to some degree with domestic cattle. The wood bison may have vanished as a distinct race through hybridization with the plains bison.

Bison are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

Bibliography: See T. McHugh and V. Hobson, The Time of the Buffalo (1972); J. N. Mcdonald, North American Bison (1981); V. Geist, Buffalo Nation (1996).

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bison

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

bison Two species of wild oxen formerly ranging over the grasslands and open woodlands of most of North America and Europe. Once numbered in millions, the American bison (often incorrectly called a buffalo) is now almost extinct in the wild. The wisent (European bison) was reduced to two herds by the 18th century. Both species now survive in protected areas. The American species is not as massive or as shaggy as the European. Length: to 3.5m (138in); height: to 3m (118in); weight: to 1350kg (2976lb). Family Bovidae; species American Bison bison; wisent Bison bonasus.
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bison

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

bison in the present form first recorded from A. V. (Deut. 14: 5 margin), earlier in L. pl. bisontes of bison (whence F. bison) — Gmc. *wisand-, *wisund- (OE. wesend, OHG. wisant. -unt, ON. visundr); familiar in recent times in connection with the American bison.
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T. F. HOAD. "bison." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "bison." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bison.html

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bison

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

bi·son / ˈbīsən; -zən/ • n. (pl. same) a humpbacked shaggy-haired wild ox (genus Bison) native to North America (B. bison) and Europe (B. bonasus).

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BiSON

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Copyright

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"BiSON." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Bison

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

Bison See BOVIDAE.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "Bison." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bison

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

bison •Masson •flaxen, Jackson, klaxon, Sachsen, Saxon, waxen •Samson •Branson, Jansen, Manson, Nansen •arson, Carson, fasten, parson, sarsen •Bresson, delicatessen, Essen, lessen, lesson •Texan •Belsen, keelson, Nelson •Mendelssohn • Empson •Benson, ensign •Stetson •basin, caisson, chasten, diapason, hasten, Jason, mason •Bateson • handbasin • washbasin •Freemason • stonemason • Nielsen •Stevenson •christen, glisten, listen •Gibson, Ibsen •Blixen, Nixon, vixen •Nilsson, Stillson, Wilson •Nicholson • Simpson • Whitsun •Robinson • Acheson •Addison, Madison •Edison •Atkinson • Dickinson • Alison •Tennyson, venison •unison •caparison, comparison, garrison, Harrison •Ericsson • Morrison •archdiocesan, diocesan •jettison • Davisson •bison, Meissen, Tyson •Michelson • Robson •coxswain, oxen •Mommsen, Thompson •Johnson, Jonson, sponson, Swanson •Watson •coarsen, hoarsen, Orson •boatswain, bosun •Robeson • Jolson • moisten • loosen •Wolfson • Cookson • Hudson •Bunsen • tutsan •Grierson, Pearson •Culbertson • Richardson • Anderson •Jefferson • Ferguson • Rowlandson •Amundsen • Emerson • Jespersen •Saracen • Peterson • Williamson •person, worsen •Bergson • chairperson • layperson •salesperson • sportsperson •spokesperson

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