ALASKA WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER

WOOD BISON

PLAINS BISON

The Wood bison is the northern cousin of the Plains bison that roams many states down-below. It is bigger that the Plains bison and a large, mature bull will often weigh 2,250 pounds versus the 1,900 pounds of the smaller Plains. A mature cow will weigh about 1,000 pounds. Caves are born in May to July and are a reddish color for a few weeks. They begin to grow horns and develop a bison’s “hump” at about two months.

Wood or Plains?

There are several characteristics that distinguish Wood bison and Plains bison. Wood bison are slightly heavier, taller, have a higher and squarer hump, and have little or no chap hair on their forelegs. Wood bison also have long, straighter hair on their head and a smaller chin beard.

Left: Wood Right: Plains

The Plains bison is only slightly smaller than the more northern Wood bison, which are the largest terrestrial animal in North America They are dark brown with “humped” shoulders, shaggy manes and beards. Both the male (bull) and female (cow) have short, sharply-pointed horns. Commonly called “buffalo” by most people, although it is not a true buffalo.

Plains bison cont...

An estimated 20 million plains bison roamed a vast region in North America until the late 1800’s, when intensive hunting and other factors reduced their numbers to about 1,000 animals, and plains bison nearly became extinct. Fortunately, about 1,000 plains bison were saved by ranchers with support from the American Bison Society, which was formed in 1906. A few plains bison persisted in Yellowstone Park and other herds were gradually reestablished in other areas. Today there are about 8,000 plains bison in free-ranging herds, and more than 400,000 in private ownership. AWCC maintains a herd of plains for Watchable Wildlife as well as participates in a program with the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association, releasing bison on Umnak Island. The oldest and largest male is named Big Boy. He has lived at AWCC since 1993 and has an estimated weight if 1,800 pounds. The two oldest females are Sugar and Precious. Bison calves are usually born in April.

AWCC’s Wood bison Reintroduction Program:

After more than 100 years of extinction in Alaska, wood bison have found their way back to the state of Alaska. The AWCC herd arrived in November 2003 from the Yukon Territory in Canada and is part of a wood bison recovery program designed to reintroduce the species to Alaska. AWCC is home to the only wood bison herd in the United States. Wood bison hold the distinction as the largest land animal in North America. The first wood bison calves born in the state of Alaska in over 100 years were born at AWCC in 2005. In 2006, 7 calves were born and 7 more are expected for 2007 (look for small orange “lumps” in the exhibit near the bushes).  AWCC will get another 50 calves from Canada this winter and the first release date is scheduled for 2010.

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Photos by

Doug Lindstrand