American bison: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the American bison lives – recorded in 4 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Bison bison
Group	Antelopes, wild cattle, sheep & goats
Status	Near threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	4 countries
Continents	Europe, North America
Mass	20 kg (birth weight); 2,800 lb (≈1,270 kg) (maximum)
Class	Mammal
Order	Artiodactyla
Family	Bovidae

Where does the American bison live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the American bison in 4 countries and territories across Europe and North America. Wikidata gives its range as: Canada, United States. In Russia it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is an American bison?

Wikidata records the following for the American bison: mass 20 kg (birth weight); 2,800 lb (≈1,270 kg) (maximum).

Is the American bison endangered?

The American bison’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Near threatened” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the American bison?

The American bison (Bison bison) is a mammal in the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae, genus Bison. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the American bison

The American bison (Bison bison; pl.: bison), commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo (not to be confused with true buffalo), is a species of bison that is endemic to North America. It is one of two extant species of bison, along with the European bison. Its historical range circa 9000 BC is referred to as the great bison belt, a tract of rich grassland spanning from Alaska south to the Gulf of Mexico, and east to the Atlantic Seaboard (nearly to the Atlantic tidewater in some areas), as far north as New York, south to Georgia, and according to some sources, further south to northern Florida, with sightings in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as 1750.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article American bison (revision 1380901535), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q82728 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).