Either species (genus Bison ) of oxlike bovid with a convex forehead and a pronounced shoulder hump.
Its dark brown, coarse hair is especially long on the head, which is held low, and on the neck and shoulders. Both sexes bear heavy, curved horns. A mature bull stands about 6.5 ft (2 m) at the shoulder and weighs more than 1,980 lb (900 kg). Bison live in herds. The American bison ( B. bison ), commonly called buffalo , was abundant over most of North America when Europeans arrived. Uncontrolled hunting drove it nearly to extinction by 1900, but it has since recovered. The European bison ( B. bonasus ) is similar and survives only in a few managed herds.
American bison, or plains buffalo ( Bison bison ).
Alan G. Nelson/Root Resources