Wood Bison
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Bovinae Genus: Bison Species: B. bison Subspecies: B. bison athabascae
Binomial name
Bison bison athabascae (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae) or Wood Buffalo is a distinct northern subspecies of the North American Bison whose original range included much of the boreal forest regions of Alaska, Yukon, western Northwest Territories, northeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, and northwestern Saskatchewan. (The words "buffalo" and "bison" are often used interchangeably in popular parlance. However, the technically correct name for this North American bovine is "bison". It is included on the Threatened species list. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in female mammary glands and the presence of hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the... Families Suidae Hippopotamidae Tayassuidae Camelidae Tragulidae Moschidae Cervidae Giraffidae Antilocapridae Bovidae The even-toed ungulates form the mammal order Artiodactyla. ... Subfamilies Bovinae Cephalophinae Hippotraginae Antilopinae Caprinae A bovid is any of almost 140 species of cloven-hoofed mammals belonging to the family Bovidae. ... Tribes Bovini Boselaphini Strepsicerotini The biological subfamily Bovinae (or bovines) includes a diverse group of about 24 species of medium-sized to large ungulates, including domestic cattle, Bison, the Water Buffalo, the Yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. ... Species †B. antiquus B. bison B. bonasus †B. latifrons † †B. priscus Herd of bison grazing in Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada. ... Binomial name Bison bison Linnaeus, 1758 The American Bison (Bison bison), also called Buffalo, is a bovine mammal that is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ... Binomial name Bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies B. b. ... Official language(s) none Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Motto: none Capital Yellowknife Largest city Yellowknife Official languages Chipewyan, Cree, English, French, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey, TłįchÇ« [1] Government - Commissioner Tony Whitford - Premier Joe Handley (Consensus government (no party affiliations)) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 1 - Senate seats 1 Confederation 1870... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... Motto: Fortis et liber(Latin) Strong and free Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Official languages English (see below) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong - Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 28 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th [Province]) Area Ranked... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: The Strength of Many Peoples) Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart - Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (Split from NWT) (9th (province)) Area  Ranked... Tribes Bovini Boselaphini Strepsicerotini The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of about 24 medium-sized to large ungulates, including domestic cattle, bison, the Water Buffalo, the Yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. ...

The Wood Bison differs from the Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), the other North American subspecies, in a number of important ways. The Wood Bison is heavier, with large males weighing over 900 kilograms (approximately 2000 lbs), and is the largest terrestrial animal in North America. The highest point of the Wood Bison is well ahead of its front legs, while the Plains Bison's highest point is directly above the front legs. Binomial name Bison bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) The Plains Bison is one of two subspecies of the American bison. ...

Reduced by hunting from a total population of about 168,000 to less than 250 individuals by the year 1900, the Wood Bison has since recovered to a total population of approximately 9,000, largely as a result of conservation efforts by Canadian government agencies. In 1988, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) changed the subspecies' conservation status from "endangered" to "threatened". A subsequent reevaluation by COSEWIC in 2000 confirmed the status of "threatened". “Hunter” redirects here. ...

Public free-ranging herds in Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories comprise the majority of existing Wood Bison, although six smaller public and private captive breeding herds with conservation objectives comprise approximately 10% of the total (n≈900). These captive herds and two large free-ranging herds in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, all of which derive from disease-free and morphologically representative founding stock from northern Wood Buffalo National Park, are particularly important for conservation and recovery purposes because the large free-ranging herds in and around Wood Buffalo National Park were infected with bovine brucellosis and tuberculosis when 7,000 Plains Bison (Bison bison bison) were trans-shipped by barge from Buffalo National Park (Wainwright, Alberta) to Wood Buffalo National Park by the federal government during the 1920s. This trans-shipment of plains bison also resulted in the hybridization of all known wood bison (i.e., there are no longer any "genetically pure" wood bison). Both diseases are still present in the free-ranging herds in and around Wood Buffalo National Park; the diseases represent a serious management issue for governments, various local Aboriginal groups, and the cattle industry (which is rapidly encroaching on the Park's boundaries). Disease management strategies and initiatives began in the 1950s, and have yet to result in a reduction of the incidence of either disease despite considerable expenditure and increased public involvement. Wood Buffalo National Park, located in northeastern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, is the largest national park in Canada at 44,807 km². The park was established in 1922 to protect the worlds largest herd of free roaming Wood Bison, currently estimated at more than 2,000. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Binomial name Bison bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) The Plains Bison is one of two subspecies of the American bison. ... The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... // This article is about a biological term. ... Aboriginal people in Canada are Indigenous Peoples recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, sections 25 and 35, respectively, as Indians (First Nations), Métis, and Inuit. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ...

Small herds of wood bison are also located in a private facility near Anchorage, Alaska (n=15) and in "Pleistocene Park", Siberia (n=30), as well as in several zoos and private game ranches.

External links

• Environment Canada's Species at Risk website profiles the Wood Bison
• Photo gallery