European bison

The European bison is one of the largest European land mammals.
The male weighs 500–1,000 kg, or even more. Height at the withers 170–200 cm and Length up to 3 meters. The female weighs 350–500 kg, Height at the withers 160–190 cm and Length less than 3 meters.
The head of the bison is large and heavy, deeply set. It has a wide convex forehead, small eyes and short, upwardly curved and centrally bent horns.
The neck of the bison is thick, short with a pronounced dewlap. It has a pronounced hump. The body is covered with chestnut-brown fur. It has a longer mane on the head, neck and hump.
In captivity, the bison lives for approximately 27 years, in the wild it is less.
The maned bison prefers to inhabit mixed forests with slightly waterlogged soil. It feeds on grass, leaves, bark of bushes and trees, lichens and mosses. An adult bison consumes from 40 to 60 kg of plant food per day. Feeding takes up 50-80% of the time from sunrise to sunset.
Bison form predominantly female herds with young. The number of animals in a herd varies from 10 to 15. During the rut, the number increases to 30-40 animals. Males live mostly solitary throughout the year except during the rut.
Males reach sexual maturity around the eighth to ninth year, females in the fifth to sixth year of life. The gestation period of a bison lasts 265 days. The female takes care of the calf for about two years. The calf weighs from 16 to 35 kg after birth

Lat.: Bison bonasus