This week, we learned about the American Bison. Author Sheila Griffin Llanas taught us how these massive mammals became known as "buffalo" here in America.
Buffaloes (Animal Icons) by Sheila Griffin Llanas
Favorite Fact: Back in the 1600s, the French called bison les boeufs, meaning "oxen". English speakers pronounced this "la buff" which eventually became "buffalo". As such, here in America, they're colloquially known as Buffalo.
Bison by Quinn M. Arnold
This quick read is great for younger toddlers.
Bison by Melissa Gish
This book is more story-like but packed with facts. Good for older littles.
Top 5 Bison Facts
A bison's bellow can be heard up to 3 miles away. We loved this fact because it's similar to a lion's roar (and we love lions).
A male bison can be 6'5" tall and 10-12 feet heat to tail. That's as long as our living room rug!
Bison are ruminants. They have 4 stomach chambers. Their first lightly chewed food gets slightly digested in the first two chambers, regurgitated, chewed and chewed and chewed, and swallowed again for final digestion through the final two chambers. How neat!
Bison nearly went extinct back in the 1800s when English settlers moved west in America. Their population went from 50 million down to about 1,000. Conservation efforts for these gravely endangered animals have brought the population back up to about 20,000 today.
Bison have been in America since back when saber-toothed cats and mammoths roamed the continent. They've lived their current form for about 5,000 years.
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