06 Bison

The American bison is the largest mammal found in North America. Bison are often called buffalo and have short, white horns on their head. Males can measure 5 metres long and weigh up to 1 100 kilograms.

The American bison normally eats over 12 kilograms of grass per day. They can be found on open plains and woodlands. They are very migratory and travel long distances in search of food. Bison don't have many enemies except people, wolf packs, and grizzly bears.

Bison are highly social animals. The females travel in groups of sixty or more, while the males travel in smaller groups or by themselves. After baby bison are born, they stay with their mothers for about three years. The male bison do not help raise the offspring.

There were once an estimated 70 million bison in North America, roaming the plains from Canada to Mexico. However, because of too much hunting, that number was reduced to 355 by 1883. Today, several wild herds can again be found on the plains, but their numbers will never be as high as they once were.

Word List

migratory : moving around a lot offspring : babies

roaming : traveling around

herds : large groups of animals

You Practice

I. Answer the following questions.

1) What do bison look like?

2) What do bison eat?

3) What enemies do bison have?

4) Why do you think the number of bison will never be as high as before?

5) Who takes care of baby bison?

II. What's the word? Choose the correct words from the reading.

1) communicate with each other: s _ _ _ _ _

2) flat areas: p _ _ _ _

3) another name for bison: b _ _ _ _ _ _

4) to help young animals grow up: r _ _ _ _

5) groups of wolves and some other animals: p _ _ _ _

III. Read theses sentences carefully. Write Yes or No for each one.

____ 1) Male bison are larger than female bison.

____ 2) Bison eat mostly meat.

____ 3) Today there are about 70 million bison.

____ 4) Bison move around a lot.

____ 5) Female and male bison usually travel together.