Ancient Bison

Ancient Bison

Did you know that the Ancient Bison was mistakenly called a buffalo? This is because they resembles the Buffalo. It was also the most common large herbivore of the North American continent. Fascinating...I know! In this speech I am going to tell you all about the ancient Bison, where they lived, what they ate, what they looked like and what caused their extinction. By the end of this speech, you will all be ancient Bison experts!

As I mentioned, the ancient Bison resembles the Buffalo, but the funny thing is that they are not closely related at all. Although they are both herbivores and mammals, The Ancient Bison was taller measuring about 7 and a half feet tall, and had larger bones and horns and generally 15-25% larger than modern day bison. From tip to tip, the horns of the Bison measured about 3 feet. Here you can see a few pictures of what the Ancient Bison looked like. (Point to pictures)

Bison are thought to have come into North America from Asia about 500,000 years ago across a land bridge that connected Alaska with Asia when sea levels were lower.Moving in huge herds, more than 20 million bison roamed the American West before man arrived. By examining the bison fossils at Rancho La Brea, paleontologists have discovered that ancient bison were migratory animals, like their modern day relatives. Its range during the late Pleistocene extended from southern Canada into Mexico and from coast to coast. Ancient bison fossils are common at many sites and mass graves resulting from Paleo-Indian hunts and have been found at some western locations. Some of these mass graves hold the remains of up to 200 Bison.

The Ancient Bison's main source of food was grass. Bison were an important part of the ecosystem for centuries, thriving on wild and drought resistant grass, native shrubs, flowers and other plants.

Ancient bison were abundant from 18,000 years ago until about 10,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Climate change and the appearance and disappearance of huge ice sheets wiped out the ancient herds. But some believe that there were other causes. Today many scientists debate this issue. Maybe one of us will find out the answer to that question some day!

I hope you all enjoyed learned a little about the ancient bison. I really enjoyed researching about this animal and look forward to seeing its bones at the La Brea tar pits.