Bison

The smaller of the two bison species is the wood bison. The average adult male weighs over 2,000 pounds, is over 10 feet long, and is over 6 feet tall. The typical female weight is 1,200 pounds. The wood bison can be identified by its upward-curving horns and facial hair that resembles a beard on its chin. The head and shoulders are disproportionately large in comparison to the rest of the body, and there is a prominent hump in front of the front legs. From the bottom of the hips to the base of the neck, the hump on a wood bison is almost vertical. This large muscular system helps the wood bison to sweep its head through thick northern snows to reach grasses and sedges in the dead of winter. Early in the spring, when the temperature rises, wood bison start to lose their winter coats. By the middle of the summer, the old coat is gone and new hair has grown in.

By developing five thriving wild herds, one of which is in the Yukon, the Canadian government hoped to delist wood bison from the endangered species list. The herd’s growth, which was introduced to this area in the 1980s and released into the wild a few years later, has fared better than anticipated. Because of the superior quality of its surroundings, the bison herd is thriving, which also leads to a high rate of calf birth and survival. The herd continues becoming bigger. The reduction of the herd size through hunting is one of the objectives of the 2012 bison management plan. At this time, plan modifications are being evaluated.

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