BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Bos bison athabascae
Wood Bison
| Scientific Name: | Bos bison athabascae Rhoads, 1898 | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Bison bison athabascae
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| English Name: | Wood Bison | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I & II. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Subspecies | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | Changed to Bos bison athabascae from Bison bison athabascae to align with NatureServe (Feb 21, 2005 DDW). | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | M-BOBI-AT | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G4T3Q (May 2018) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S2 (Feb 2015) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Special Concern (Nov 2013) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | 1 - Threatened (Jun 2003) | ||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Subspecies Comments: | The wood bison (Bos bison athabascae, Rhoads 1898) is the northern woodland morph, associated with boreal forests and parklands in northwestern North America. Subspecific taxonomy is controversial, but most taxonomists recognize wood bison (B. b. athabascae) as a valid taxon separate from plains bison (B. b. bison), and the European bison (B. b. bonasus) (Nagorsen 1990, Gates et al. 2001). Systematics of existing wood bison populations will likely remain complicated because the original distribution of the two North American races has been altered by range reductions, translocations, and hybridization between the two subspecies (Reynolds et al. 1982, van Zyll de Jong 1986, Nagorsen 1990, Gates et al. 2001). It has been suggested that variation in size and pelage characteristics in bison is mostly influenced by environment and nutrition (Geist 1991). However, the most widely accepted interpretation of variation between plains bison (B. b. bison) and wood bison (B. b. athabascae) is that the phenotypic variations among remnant populations are genetically based (van Zyll de Jong et al. 1995, Gates et al. 2001). Although hybridization and translocation have confused the taxonomic position of wood bison, complete genetic mixing with plains bison did not occur in Wood Buffalo National Park following the introduction of plains bison in 1925-1928. Wood bison from Elk Island National Park differ morphologically and genetically from both plains bison and the hybrid population in WBNP near Pine Lake (van Zyll de Jong et al. 1995). All wood bison in British Columbia trace their origin back to animals from Elk Island National Park, and therefore represent the closest living relatives of the original wood bison (van Zyll de Jong et al. 1995). Future interpretations of the subspecific status of wood bison should in no way affect the conservation of the genetically-based geographic variation represented in wood bison from British Columbia. | ||||||||||
| Identification Comments: | The North American bison (Bison bison) is the largest native land animal in North America. A mature adult male weighs between 800 and 900 kg and can exceed 2 m in shoulder height. Adult females weigh about one-half that of adult males and average 1.5 m in shoulder height. Bison have a thick coat varying across the body from golden to dark brown with a shaggy mane that covers their forequarters. They have distinctive tasseled tails and both sexes possess true horns. For the first three months of life, young bison are reddish brown. Wood bison are slightly larger and darker than plains bison, have relatively shorter neck mane and leg chap hair, and have a more pronounced shoulder hump than plains bison. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Reproduction Comments: | Wood bison are seasonally polyestrous, with a mean cycle of length 21 days (Motomura 1994). The breeding season is from July to early September with the majority of breeding taking place in July. During the rut, older bulls tend to expend more effort and exhibit more aggressive behaviour compared to younger bulls, but younger bulls still take advantage of any available mating opportunity (Komers et al. 1994a, 1994b). Females first conceive at between one and three years and usually one calf is produced in May (Gates et al. 2001). The gestation period is between 270 and 300 days (around 9.5 months). Wild bison live an average of 10 years, but the maximum age of a captive animal was 22 years (Eisenberg 1981). In the wild, fertility generally declines in females over 12 years of age (Gates et al. 2001). | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: |
Social structure includes bull groups, mixed groups containing cows and young, and adult groups containing adults of both sexes but no young (Komers et al. 1993). Groups are highly mobile and fluid. In Northwest Territories, median home range size was 706-1240 sq km for different age/sex classes in areas with lesser forage availability, 170-435 sq km for classes in areas with more food (Larter and Gates 1994). |
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| Provincial Ecology Comments: | North American bison are very well adapted to cold climates. Unlike cattle and yak, the metabolic rate of bison decreases in response to low ambient temperatures (down to -30 degrees Celsius). However, in very severe thermal environments, when extremely low temperatures and winds are superimposed, bison respond with a thermoregulatory increase in metabolic rate (Christopherson and Hudson 1978). Although bison are considered to be a powerful animal, relatively tolerant of deep snow, snowdepths that exceed approximately 65 cm can limit the ability of calves to move and obtain forage. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N Y / Y N / Y na / N |
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| Provincial Mobility & Migration Comments: | Bison have been known to travel hundreds of kilometres in relatively short time-frames. For example, when 28 EINP Wood Bison were transported to the eastern boundary of Jasper National Park in 1978, most of the animals travelled 150 km north in the first 30 days following release from a holding corral (WBRT 1987). This reintroduction attempt failed when the Bison had to be recaptured upon entering an agricultural area near Grande Prairie, AB. A similar situation occurred in 1980 when Wood Bison were released at Nahanni Butte without being maintained in a holding facility, with the result that some animals temporarily dispersed up to 250 km into British Columbia. There are more recent examples of long distance movement of recently translocated Wood Bison. These include animals that dispersed 100 km south from Etthithun Lake in 1997 and those that temporarily dispersed from Nahanni Butte to Fort Nelson in 1998. | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Forest / Conifer Forest - Dry / Facultative - occasional use
Forest / Conifer Forest - Mesic (average) / Facultative - occasional use Forest / Conifer Forest - Moist/wet / Facultative - occasional use Forest / Deciduous/Broadleaf Forest / Facultative - occasional use Forest / Mixed Forest (deciduous/coniferous mix) / Facultative - occasional use Grassland/Shrub / Grassland / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Facultative - frequent use Lakes / Lake / Facultative - occasional use Lakes / Pond/Open Water / Facultative - occasional use Riparian / Gravel Bar / Facultative - occasional use Riparian / Riparian Forest / Facultative - occasional use Riparian / Riparian Herbaceous / Facultative - occasional use Riparian / Riparian Shrub / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Bog / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Fen / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Marsh / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Swamp / Facultative - occasional use |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | At the MacKenzie Bison Sanctuary, Northwest Territories, wet sedge meadows were the preferred winter habitat; willow savannas were preferred in summer; no distinct habitat preference in fall, used wooded habitats; habitat use was affected by snow-cover-induced changes in food availability (Larter and Gates 1991). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Habitat Comments: | An obligate grazer, wood bison exploit a unique niche of coarse grass and sedge meadows, including industrially disturbed sites (Gates et al. 2001), with wetland-associated meadows, open savanna-like shrublands and dry grasslands are the most important habitats types (Reynolds et al. 1978, Larter and Gates 1991). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Herbivore: Adult, Immature
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | In the Northwest Territories, diet varied with food availability; winter diet was dominated by sedges; in summer, diet was more diverse and included mainly sedges, grasses, and willow; lichen became a major food in fall (Larter and Gates 1991). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Food Habits Comments: | Grazing accounts for the majority of the bison's food intake. Bison showed a preference for feeding in wet meadows and Carex atherodes and Calamagrostis spp. were the most common food items in all seasons (Reynolds et al. 1978). In the MBS, sedges are almost exclusively consumed during winter, but willow leaves and grasses become important components of bison diet with the onset of new plant growth in spring Larter and Gates 1991). By mid July shrubs are used to a lesser extent and sedges again dominate the diet. Fall diets in the MBS consist of nearly equal proportions of grasses and sedges and a minor component of terrestrial lichen (Larter and Gates 1991). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: 300 / 700 |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This subspecies is a Canadian endemic, known from Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Yukon. Presumed extirpated from Saskatchewan. Pre-colonial range included Alaska and it still occurs there, but only as an "experimental, non-essential population" (Krauss, pers. comm., 2019; Doney et al., 2018). According to van Zyll de Jong (1986), historic range probably extended from east-central and northeastern British Columbia, central Alberta, and central Saskatchewan north to the southern Northwest Territories (vicinity of Great Slave Lake west to Fort Laird and Fort Simpson). Hall (1981) mapped the range as extending southward into several western U.S. states. Here the range of the wood bison (subspecies athabascae) is regarded as restricted to Canada, following van Zyll de Jong (1986) and Meager (1986). van Zyll de Jong et al. (1995) examined phenotypic variation and concluded that the bison in greater Wood Buffalo National Park should be regarded as subspecies athabascae, except for the clearly intermediate Pine Lake subpopulation, for which intergrade (B. B. bison x B. B. athabascae) status was recommended. The authors acknowledged that all subpopulations in the Wood Buffalo National Park area appear to have been affected phenotypically to some degree by the introduction of plains bison. |
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| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Hammerson, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | May 26, 1995 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | Harper, W. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Mar 15, 2008 | ||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Blood, D. 2000. Bison in British Columbia. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 6pp. |
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Bork, A. M., C. M. Strobeck, F. C. Yeh, R. J. Hudson and R. K. Slamon. 1991. Genetic relationship of wood and plains bison based on restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Canadian Journal of Zoology 69: 43-48. |
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Christopherson, R.J., and R.J. Hudson. 1978. Effects of temperature and wind on cattle and Bison. 57th Annual Feeder's Day Report 57:40-41. |
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COSEWIC. 2004d. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the plains bison Bison bison bison in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 71 pp. |
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Eisenberg, J.F. 1981. The mammalian radiations: an analysis of trends in evolution, adaptation, and behaviour. Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 610pp. |
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Gates, C.C. et al. 2001. National Recovery Plan for the Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae). Recovery of Natl. Endangered Wildl. Comm. Rep. No. 21. Ottawa. 50pp. |
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Geist, V. 1990. Agriculture versus bison in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park. Conservation Biology 4:345-346. |
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Geist, V. 1991. Phantom subspecies: the wood bison BISON BISON "ATHABASCAE" Rhoads 1897 is not a valid taxon, but an ecotype. Arctic 44:283-300. |
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Harper, B. 2002. Wood Bison. B.C. Minist. Water, Land and Air Prot., Biodiv. Branch. 6pp. |
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Harper, W.L., and C.C. Gates. 2000. Recovery of Wood Bison in British Columbia. Pp. 915-923 in L.M. Darling, ed. 2000. Proc. Conf. on the Biology and Manage. Species and Habitats at Risk, Kamloops, B.C., 15-19 Feb., 1999. Vol. 2; B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Victoria, BC, and Univ. College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, BC. 520pp. |
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Jensen, O.C., et al. 2004. Assessing Suitable and Critical Habitat for Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae) Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing: Preliminary Results. In T.D. Hooper, ed. Proc. of the Species at Risk 2004 Pathways to Recovery Conf. March 2-6, 2004, Victoria, B.C. Species at Risk 2004 Pathways to Recovery Conference Organizing Committee, Victoria, BC. 18pp. |
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Joly, D.O. and F. Messier. 2004b. Testing hypotheses of bison population decline (1970-1999) in Wood Buffalo National Park: synergism between exotic disease and predation. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82:1165-1176. |
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Joly, D.O. and F. Messier. 2005. The effect of bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis on reproduction and survival of wood bison in Wood Buffalo National Park. Journal of Animal Ecology 74:543-551. |
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Joly, D.O., and Messier, F. 2000. A numerical response of wolves to bison abundance in Wood Buffalo National Park. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78:1101-1104. |
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Komers, P. E., F. Messier, and C. C. Gates. 1993. Group structure in wood bison: nutritional and reproductive determinants. Canadian J. Zoology 71:1367-1371. |
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Komers, P.E. 1994. Plasticity of reproductive behaviour in Wood Bison bulls: On risks and opportunities. Ethology, Ecology and Evolution. 6:481-495. |
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Komers, P.E., F. Messier and C.C. Gates. 1993. Group structure in wood bison: nutritional and reproductive determinants. Canadian Journal of Zoology 71: 1367-1371. |
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Komers, P.E., F. Messier, and C.C. Gates. 1994. Plasticity of reproductive behaviour in Wood Bison bulls: when subadults are given a chance. Ethology, Ecology and Evolution 6:313-330. |
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Larter, N. C., and C. C. Gates. 1991. Diet and habitat selection of wood bison in relation to seasonal changes in forage quantity and quality. Canadian J. Zoology 69:2677-2685. |
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Larter, N. C., and C. C. Gates. 1994. Home-range size of wood bison: effects of age, sex, and forage availability. J. Mammalogy 75:142-149. |
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Larter, N.C. and C.C. Gates. 1991. Diet and habitat selection of wood bison in relation to seasonal changes in forage quantity and quality. Canadian Journal of Zoology 69: 2677-2685. |
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Larter, N.C., et al. 2000. Dynamics of reintroduction in an indigenous large ungulate: the wood bison of northern Canada. Animal Conservation 4:299-309. |
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Lutze-Wallace, C., et al. 2006. Isolation of Mycobacterium bovis from a wood bison in a wildlife conservation project in the Northwest Territories. Canadian Veterinary Journal 42:317-318. |
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Mitchell, J.A. and C.C. Gates. 2002. Status of the Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae) in Alberta. Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Fish and Wildlife Division, and Alberta Conservation Association, Wildlife Status Report No. 39, Edmonton, AB. 32 pp. |
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Mitchell, J.A., C.C. Gates, R. Rowell, and K. Lloyd. 2000. A Decision-Support Tool for Managing the Risk of Tuberculosis and Brucellosis Infection in Northern Canada. Pp. 173-178 in L.M. Darling, ed. 2000. Proc. Conf. on the Biology and Manage. Species and Habitats at Risk, Kamloops, B.C., 15-19 Feb., 1999. Vol. 1; B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Victoria, BC, and Univ. College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, BC. 490pp. |
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Motomura, D.M.M. 1994. Progestin excretion and estrous synchronization in Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae). M.Sc. Thesis. Accessed online through ProQuest Direct, UMI Corp., Ann Arbor, MI. |
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Nagorsen, D. 1990. The mammals of British Columbia: a taxonomic catalogue. Mem. No. 4. Royal B.C. Mus., Victoria. 140pp. |
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Nishi, J.S. et al. 2004. Risk assessment as a tool to evaluate health status of a salvaged herd of captive wood bison. T.D. Hooper, ed. Proceedings of the Species at Risk 2004 Pathways to Recovery Conference. March 2-6, 2004, Victoria, B.C. Species at Risk 2004 Pathways to Recovery Conference Organizing Committee, Victoria, BC. |
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Nishi, J.S., B.T. Elkin, and T.R. Ellsworth. 2002. The Hook Lake Wood Bison Recovery Project: can a disease-free captive wood bison herd be recovered from a wild population infected with bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 696:229-235. |
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Province of British Columbia. 2002. Wildlife in British Columbia at risk - Wood Bison. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Victoria, BC. 6pp. |
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Reynolds, H.W., R.M. Hansen, and D.G. Peden. 1978. Diets of the Slave River Lowland Bison herd, Northwest Territories, Canada. Journal of Wildlife Management 42:581-590. |
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Shackleton, D. 1999. Hoofed Mammals of British Columbia. UBC Press in collaboration with Royal B.C. Mus. 272pp. |
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van Zyll de Jong, C. G. 1986. A systematic study of Recent bison, with particular consideration of the wood bison (BISON BISON ATHABASCAE Rhoads 1898). National Museums of Canada, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Publ. in Nat. Sci. (6):viii + 69 pp. |
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van Zyll de Jong, C. G., C. Gates, H. Reynolds, and W. Olson. 1995. Phenotypic variation in remnant populations of North American bison. Journal of Mammalogy 76:391-405. |
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van Zyll de Jong, C. G., C. Gates, H. Reynolds, and W. Olson. 1995. Phenotypic variation in remnant populations of North American bison. Journal of Mammalogy 76:391-405. |
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van Zyll de Jong, C.G. 1986. A systematic study of recent bison, with particular consideration of the wood bison (BISON BISON ATHABASCAE Rhoads 1898). National Museums of Canada, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Publ. in Nat. Sci. (6): viii + 69pp. |
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Wildlife Branch. 1991. Bison Management Plan for British Columbia. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Victoria. 31pp. |
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Wood Bison Recovery Team, (WBRT). 1987. Status report on the Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) in Canada. 86pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1995. Species Summary: Bos bison athabascae. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 29, 2024).