Bison of the West for Kids | Learn all about these special mammals

foreign [Music] bison of the West hello there everybody today we are going to learn about bison if you want to read along you can download this lesson plan from our website learnbrite.org what are buffalo and bison buffalos are large mammals that live in Africa and Asia in Africa Buffalo is called the Cape buffalo in Asia they are called water buffalo did you know that buffaloes don't actually live in the United States the animal that many people call a buffalo is a different animal called a bison bison are similar to Buffalo yak and Cattle there are two species of bison in the world the American Bison and the European bison bison are the largest land mammals in both North America and Europe they can weigh up to 2 000 pounds and are usually over six feet tall and 10 feet long and both the males and females have horns even though they are huge animals bison are fast and agile they can run up to 35 miles an hour which helps them to outrun some predators plus they can spin around quickly jump high fences and are strong swimmers all of these attributes help bison to avoid being eaten by predators Predators like wolves can defeat only sick bison what do bison eat if you are a bison you only eat from the salad bar that's because bison are herbivores meaning they only eat plants they primarily eat grasses weeds and leafy plants bison spend most of their day eating as the sun rises bison wake up in groups of three to four and head out to graze they eat their fill and then rest then they go out to eat more and come back to rest then again they go out to eat more and return to rest they keep doing this for 9 to 11 hours each day it is estimated that bison eat about 1.6 of their body mass per day of dry vegetation that equals 24 pounds a day of grass bison eat grass as the main part of their daily diet the grass is toughed plants with narrow elongated leaves they also eat forbs which are plants with broad leaves most people call Forbes weeds or wildflowers depending on their perspective and now and then bison will eat brows plants with a woody stem their diet is as exciting as watching grass grow which bison probably do since they like to eat so much of it but what happens in the winter when the land is covered in snow that's when their large protruding shoulder hump comes in handy unlike a camel their hump is muscles supported by long vertebrae it allows them to swing their heads side to side to clear the snow from the ground creating patches where they can keep foraging for food and these patches of cleared land help other animals too for example they clear a highway for animals like antelope and Elk to travel so they are not trudging through the snow and they help smaller animals to get to grasses they would not usually be able to reach in the snowy landscape other interesting facts the scientific name for a bison is bison actually it is bison bison bison but you can call them bison for short they are of the genus bison the species bison and the subspecies bison historians believe that we began to call them Buffalo because of the French word for beef boof today Yellowstone National Park is the central place where American Bison continuously live with protection by Park authorities the Bison in this park are super special because they are descendants of the original early bison that roamed the grasslands Plus at approximately 5450 bison it is the largest Herd on public lands the Bison freely roam around the park and some parts of Montana Yellowstone is one of the last places where wild bison Rome if you ever wonder how a bison feels check out its tail the Bison is calm and chill when it hangs down and swishes naturally but watch out if you ever see a bison tail standing straight up it is getting ready to charge bison are Moody so always be careful if you are around them every year accidents are caused by people getting too close to bison it's great to love the Bison but love them from a distance why are bison important to the environment at one point in history 30 to 60 million bison roamed North America they help shape the landscape by grazing grass at different heights providing bird nesting grounds and creating wallows wallows are made when bison roll around on the ground and pack down the soil into depressions wallows fill with rain water and provide pools for amphibians and drinking water for other wildlife after Europeans settled in America the Bison population was reduced to only 500 animals many were hunted as a sport or killed by Pioneers as they moved West around 1868 President Grant wanted to force the native populations to move from the land because the government wanted to settle and build railroads in the Western Plains Grant authorized the military to kill bison and encouraged hunters from all over the country to rid the area of the Bison he believed the native populations would move if their primary source of food and clothing were eliminated one famous Pioneer Buffalo Bill Cody in 1873 claimed to have killed more than 4 000 bison in two years settlers would sometimes hang out of train windows and shoot the Bison as they traveled on railroads President Roosevelt helped to save bison from Extinction in 1883 he went on a trip to hunt bison and realized how amazing the land was out west so he formed the American Bison Society with William hornaday to save the disappearing bison because of their efforts bison now live in all 50 states learning about bison is pretty interesting let's see what facts you remember true or false bison are herbivores that's true even though bison are huge they only eat from the salad bar pass the veggies please why does the author say bison are fast and agile they can run up to 35 miles an hour which helps them to outrun some predators plus they can spin around quickly jump high fences and are strong swimmers how does the Bison clearing snow in the winter help other animals where did you find the information these patches of cleared land help other animals too for example they clear a highway for animals like antelope and Elk to travel so they are not trudging through the snow and they help smaller animals to get to grasses they would not usually be able to reach in the snowy landscape how'd you do did you get them all right job friends if you liked this lesson you can visit learnbrite.org to check out more cool lesson plans hope you had fun learning with us visit us at learnbrite.org for thousands of free resources and TurnKey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers thank you [Music]

Channel: Learn Bright

Views: 148,874

Keywords: bison, American bison, what are bison, bison v. buffalo, are bison the same as buffalo, what is a buffalo, where do bison live, bison diet, high-interest reading, Yellowstone National Park, reading comprehension practice, Learn Bright

Id: 9tZJDcfiatM

Length: 9min 40sec (580 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 01 2023