Mystery Animal
MARCH 20-21
2021
The 2021 College Royal’s Mystery Animal is …
Mystery animal reveal
ABOUT THE BISON:
- Bison are migratory animals – they migrate south in the winter and move back north in the spring.
- Bison are a near endangered species.
- Bison are very fast animals despite weighing anywhere from 930lbs-2,200lbs they can run up to 55 kilometres an hour!
- Their sense of smell is so strong that they can smell an animal three kilometres away!
- Bison are excellent swimmers but are so buoyant that their head, hump and tail stay above the surface of the water!
- Bison are huge, aggressive, powerful bovine mammals. They have solid muscular heads and necks that are covered with brown shaggy fur.
- Both males and females have sharp, curved horns in order to defend themselves against predators.
- Bison have humped shoulders and short legs. However, they stand at around 6.6 feet tall. Males are typically larger than females.
- During the winter bison have a thick dark brown coat. They shed their winter coat in the summer into a lighter brown colour.
- Bison have poor eye site, however, have incredible hearing and sense of smell.
- Nearly all the nutritional needs of bison can be met through grazing perennial grasses that are grown in the agricultural regions of Canada!
- Supplemental hay and grain are often fed to bison in the winter.
- Bison are naturally hardy and require less intensive management than other livestock animals such as cattle.
- They are well adapted for extreme weather conditions such as Canadian winters due to their thick hair coat!
- They also can adapt their water requirements in the winter and obtain it through snow.
- Bison are highly sustainable livestock and agriculture because
- They require less inputs than any other form of agriculture
- They leave a minimal footprint on the natural environment
BISON COLOURING PAGE
