Bison in the context of "Bison bison"

The American bison (Bison bison; pl.: bison), commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo (not to be confused with true buffalo), is a species of bison that is endemic (or native) to North America. It is one of two extant species of bison, along with the European bison. Its historical range circa 9000 BC is referred to as the great bison belt, a tract of rich grassland spanning from Alaska south to the Gulf of Mexico, and east to the Atlantic Seaboard (nearly to the Atlantic tidewater in some areas), as far north as New York, south to Georgia, and according to some sources, further south to northern Florida, with sightings in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as 1750.

Two subspecies or ecotypes have been described: the plains bison (B. b. bison), smaller and with a more rounded hump; and the wood bison (B. b. athabascae), the larger of the two and having a taller, square hump. Furthermore, the plains bison has been suggested to consist of a northern plains (B. b. montanae) and a southern plains (B. b. bison) subspecies, bringing the total to three. However, this is generally not supported. The wood bison is one of the largest wild species of extant bovid in the world, surpassed only by the Asian gaur. Among extant land animals in North America, the bison is the heaviest and the longest, and the second tallest after the moose.

Genesee Park is a park in Jefferson County, Colorado. It is the largest park in the Denver Mountain Parks system, with a total of 2,413 acres (9.77 km). The land for Genesee Park was initially purchased in 1912 and the park area was largely complete by 1926.

The park contains two mountains, Genesee Mountain at 8,284 feet (2,525 m) above sea level and Bald Mountain at 7,988 feet (2,435 m) above sea level. The park also contains forests of ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and lodgepole pine. Interstate 70 traverses the park between exits 252 and 254 along the Lariat Loop Scenic & Historic Byway. On I-70 just west of exit 254, there are scenic overlooks for both directions for viewing the historic Bison herd, which live on maintained pastures on the north and south sides of I-70. The park's bison herd is owned by the City and County of Denver. Some of the original bison were acquired from Yellowstone National Park by the Denver Zoo and the City of Denver as early leaders in the conservation of bison. The bison herd moved here in 1914 and was expanded to Daniels Park in 1938. Thirty five bison were distributed to Native American tribes in 2023.

Bovidae is the biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes cattle, bison, buffalo, antelopes, and goat-antelopes such as sheep and goats. There are 143 extant species and 300 known extinct species of bovids, which are divided into either 11 major subfamilies, or two subfamilies with thirteen tribes. The earliest known bovid had evolved by 20 million years ago, in the early Miocene.

The bovids show great variation in size and colouration of their fur. With exceptions in some domesticated forms, all male bovids have two or more horns, and in many species, females possess horns too. The size and shape of the horns vary greatly, but the basic structure is always one or more pairs of simple, unbranched, bony protrusions of the skull covered in a permanent sheath of keratin, and often with a spiral, twisted, or fluted shape, Most bovids bear 30 to 32 teeth.

Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this group of bovids are classified into loose tribes rather than formal subgroups, as the evolutionary relationships within the groups are still uncertain. General characteristics include cloven hooves and usually at least one of the sexes of a species having true horns. The largest extant bovine is the gaur.

In many countries, bovine milk and meat is used as food by humans. Cattle are kept as livestock almost everywhere except in parts of India and Nepal, where they are considered sacred by most Hindus. Bovines are used as draft animals and as riding animals. Small breeds of domestic bovine, such as the Miniature Zebu, are kept as pets. Bovine leather is durable and flexible and is used to produce a wide range of goods including clothing and bags.

Bos (from Latin bōs: cow, ox, bull) is a genus of bovines, which includes, among others, wild and domestic cattle.

Bos is often divided into four subgenera: Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus, but including these last three divisions within the genus Bos without including Bison is believed to be paraphyletic by many workers on the classification of the genus since the 1980s. The genus as traditionally defined has five extant species, but this rises to eight when the domesticated varieties are counted as separate species, and ten when the closely related Bison is also included. Most but not all modern breeds of domesticated cattle (including taurine cattle and zebu) are believed to have originated from the extinct aurochs. Others like Bali cattle and gayal are thought to have originated from South and Southeast Asian Bos species.

A Buffalo wing in American cuisine is an unbreaded chicken wing section (flat or drumette) that is generally deep-fried, then coated or dipped in a sauce consisting of a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter prior to serving. They are traditionally served hot, along with celery and carrot sticks, and a dip of ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing (the latter being primarily served in New York). Buffalo wings are named after Buffalo, New York, where they were invented, and have no relation to the animal. They are often called simply chicken wings, hot wings, or just wings.

Buffalo wings have gained in popularity in the United States and abroad, with some North American restaurant chains featuring them as a main menu item. The name "Buffalo" is now also applied to other spiced fried foods served with dipping sauces, including boneless chicken wings (made from chicken breast meat rather than a chicken wing), chicken fries, chicken nuggets, popcorn chicken, shrimp, and cauliflower. It is also used for other dishes, such as pizza, that are seasoned with the Buffalo-style sauce or a seasoning.

The European bison (pl.: bison) (Bison bonasus) or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent (/ˈviːzənt/ or /ˈwiːzənt/), the zubr (/ˈzuːbər/), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the American bison. The European bison is the heaviest wild land animal in Europe, and individuals in the past may have been even larger than their modern-day descendants. During late antiquity and the Middle Ages, bison became extinct in much of Europe and Asia, surviving into the 20th century only in northern-central Europe and the northern Caucasus Mountains. During the early years of the 20th century, bison were hunted to extinction in the wild.

By the late 2010s, the species numbered several thousand and had been returned to the wild by captive breeding programmes. It is no longer in immediate danger of extinction, but remains absent from most of its historical range. It is not to be confused with the aurochs (Bos primigenius), the extinct ancestor of domestic cattle, with which it once co-existed. Besides humans, bison have few predators. In the 19th century, there were scattered reports of wolves, lions, tigers, and bears hunting bison. In the past, especially during the Middle Ages, humans commonly killed bison for their hide and meat. They used their horns to make drinking horns.

The great bison belt is a tract of rich grassland that ran from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico from around 9000 BC. The great bison belt was supported by spring and early summer rainfall that allowed short grasses to grow. These grasses retain their moisture at the roots which allowed for grazing ungulates such as bison to find high-quality nutritious food in autumn.

These grasses are what allowed the bison population to thrive, as they were able to receive all of their nutrients from the short grasses, unlike other Ice Age animals which expanded in the postglacial period. This area was important to the Plains Paleo-Indians, who around 8500 BC turned to bison hunting instead of hunting a broader range of food.