BISON
as found in
Custer State Park
South Dakota




This enormous mammal is dark brown, with a high hump on its shoulders that is usually pale golden brown. It grows to 6ft. high and can weigh up to 2000 pounds. The head is massive and both sexes have horns and Long shaggy hair hanging from the shoulders and front legs.
Before North America was settled by Europeans, bison numbered perhaps 60 million, but by 1900 fewer than 1000 remained.  A last-minute rescue attempt resulted in a successful comeback.  Now you can see Bison at Yellowstone, Wind Cave S.D., Wood Buffalo Alberta and many other parks and refuges. Bison are also called Buffalo, but true buffalo live only in Africa and Asia.
Information is from "Peterson First Guides"
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DEFINITIONS
FROM
Merriam-Webster COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY
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bi·son
Pronunciation: 'bI-s&n, -z&n
Function: noun            plural:  bison
Etymology: Latin bisont-, bison, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wisant aurochs; akin to Old Prussian wissambrs aurochs  Date: 1611
Any of several large shaggy-maned usually gregarious recent or extinct bovine mammals (genus Bison) having a large head with short horns and heavy forequarters surmounted by a large fleshy hump:
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buf·fa·lo
Pronunciation: 'b&-f&-"lO
Function: noun
plural: -lo or -loes also -los
Etymology: Italian bufalo & Spanish búfalo, from Late Latin bufalus, alteration of Latin bubalus, from Greek boubalos African gazelle     Date: 1562
1 : any of several wild bovids: as
a : WATER BUFFALO b : CAPE BUFFALO
c : any of a genus (Bison) of bovids; especially : a large shaggy-maned No. American bovid (B. bison) that has short horns and heavy forequarters with a large muscular hump and that was formerly abundant on the central and western plains 

2 : any of several suckers (genus Ictiobus) found mostly in the Mississippi valley -- called also buffalofish 
Goto: Bison at Custer State Park