Information
A
buffalo's habitat varies. They live primarily on plains,
prairies, river valleys and sometimes forests. Free
ranging buffalo occur only in national parks and reserves
such as Yellowstone and Custer. While we often call
these animals buffalo, their proper name is bison. True
buffalo only live in Africa and Asia. The American buffalo
is the largest terrestrial animal in North America.
Bulls can weigh up to 2000 pounds, but are very good
swimmers in spite of their weight. A buffalo will eat
anywhere from 2% to 3% of their body weight "A DAY!!!"
This means for every 1,000 pounds, 20 to 30 pounds of
food is needed. Bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds so
if you do the math, that is over 60 pounds of food per
animal per day. Major buffalo's predator is the lion,
that preferentially attacks the small bachelor groups,
since the great herds offer a high level of protection
to their members. Hyenas prey on calves and on sick
or weak animals, and crocodiles can grab them while
fording a river.
|
