American bison
Amazing fact
In winter, American bison sweep their heads from side to side to clear snow and find grass.
Smithsonian National Zoo
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
In winter, American bison sweep their heads from side to side to clear snow and find grass.
THE REAL WORLD
The real American bison
- Scientific name
- Bison bison
- Japanese name
- アメリカバイソン
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Bison
It lives in the western United States and Canada, in grasslands, conifer forests and similar places.
Its shoulders rise in a high hump, and thick, curly hair covers it from the head to the front legs, so the front half of its body looks very big.
It belongs to the cattle family. Males fight by butting their big heads and horns together hard.
How the American bison lives
It grazes in the morning and rests and chews cud at midday. It grazes again in the evening. When traveling, bison form a line. In spring it rolls to loosen its heavy coat, which then sheds.
Smithsonian National ZooUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 380 cm上野動物園
- Weight
- males about 800 kg, females about 540 kg上野動物園
- Lifespan
- 15–20 years in the wildUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Active
- By day (diurnal)University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Grasses上野動物園
- Range
- North America上野動物園
Where the American bison has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- アメリカバイソン
- 简体中文
- 北美野牛
- 繁體中文
- 北美野牛
- 한국어
- 아메리카들소
- Español
- Bisonte americano
- Français
- Bison d'Amérique
- Deutsch
- Amerikanischer Bison
- Português (Brasil)
- Bisão-americano
- Italiano
- Bisonte americano
- हिन्दी
- अमेरिकी भैंस
- العربية
- بيسون أمريكي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Bison Amerika
- Tiếng Việt
- Bò rừng bizon Bắc Mỹ
- Русский
- Американский бизон
- Türkçe
- Amerika bizonu
- ไทย
- ไบซันอเมริกา
- বাংলা
- আমেরিকান বাইসন
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — アメリカバイソンChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Bison bisonChecked: 2026-11-03
- Smithsonian National Zoo — American bisonChecked: 2026-11-05
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the American bison, look for this
- Look at its horns, which curve outward and upward.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
Smithsonian National ZooEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the American bison
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Bovidae
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