Name: Bison or European bison (Bison bonasus)
Life expectation: bulls live up to 16 years, cows up to 24 years
Size: Adults are up to three meters long and have a shoulder height of up to two meters.
Weight: Bulls weigh between 500 and 1,000 kilograms, cows can weigh between 300 and 500 kilograms.
Appearance: Bisons have dark brown fur and high withers. They have two horns on their prominent skull.
Habitat: Preferred habitats are deciduous and mixed forests.
Food: As pure herbivores, they feed on grasses, herbs and bark. They need about 50 kilograms of food a day.
Reproduction: The mating season is from August to November. The bison cows carry their calves for nine months, so that they are usually born in spring and summer. At birth the offspring weigh about 30 kilograms.
Social behaviour: A leader cow leads the herd. As loners, the bulls only join the bison family during the mating season.
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