Wildlife W@tch :: The Fossil Rim Newsletter :: Test your knowledge about Bison, an animal who is an American History staple

Test your knowledge about Bison, an animal who is an American History staple

Bison
Bison bison

It is hard to imagine thinking of American History without including Bison. Bison are often incorrectly referred to as Buffaloes but that term is properly used only with the Old World animals such as the Cape buffalo found in Africa or the water buffalo from India. Our American Bison are large shaggy animals with short horns curving out from the sides of their heads. They generally measure 5 to 6 feet at the shoulder. In the early days of American settlement Bison provided clothing, bedding and shelter from their hides; tools and nutrition from the bones; spoons and cups from the horns; cooking oil and lamp oil from their fat; as well as being an excellent source of food. See how well you know these animals that used to appear as endless herds upon our frontier.

True or False:
1.	Bison were sometimes seen as a weather predictor.
2.	Native Americans sometimes herded bison over embankments to more easily kill them as they fell.
3.	Bison found in America are quite different than the bison found in Canada.
4.	The bison almost eradicated the prairies that were once found over so much of America.
5.	White settlers managed to all but wipe out the 50 to 75 million bison within just a few years, reducing the former population to an estimated three hundred animals.

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