Wild bull with a long. The meaning of the word bison in a large modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language

The meaning of the word BISON in the Great Modern explanatory dictionary Russian language

BUFFALO

A large animal of the bovid family with a long soft wool; wild North American bull.

Large modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. 2012

Progenitor tour

Let's start with the strongest representative of the bull-like species, which, unfortunately, is no longer on our planet. This tour is the ancestor of all modern large cattle. In terms of endurance and productivity, no one can compare with the tour.

He was called the “wild forest bull.” Tur lived in Europe, North Africa, the Caucasus, and Asia Minor. The last individuals died out in 1627 due to disease.

They lived in forest-steppes and forests, gathered in small herds or existed alone. Their food was grass, shoots, etc.

Description

It was a huge animal, up to 180 cm tall and 800 kg in weight. The body of male turs was covered with black fur, and there was a small stripe on the back white. Females, like young animals, walked brown.

Reason for disappearance

The reason why aurochs no longer live on earth and we only see them in pictures is man. Wild animals were constantly hunted. In addition, their home, the forest thickets, was actively cut down as civilization developed.

Scientists do not give up attempts to revive the lost species of majestic bulls, which, even in the absence comfortable conditions accommodation and food could become a legend.

Bison and bison

Buffalo

Bison is another wild bull whose power and size are surprising even in the photo. Its history goes back to stone Age. Outwardly, it is very similar to a bison; they are easy to confuse.

The main characteristics of a bison's appearance are a hump formed by high and steep withers, and a low-set head with a very wide frontal area. The ends of its short horns are curved inward. What makes it look massive is the dense vegetation on the front of the body (on the chin, neck, shoulders), which is tangled into shreds. The tail is short, decorated with a tassel.

Having a mass of up to 1.2 tons (for females - 700 kg), a body length of 2.5-3 m and a height of 1.9 m, the bison is one of the largest of all ungulates on the planet.

Its color can be black, gray or brown, with lighter hair on the shoulders, and the calves are usually very light, yellow color, although light-colored adults can occasionally be seen.

Bison lifestyle

Bison are characterized by measured behavior, non-aggressive outside the danger zone. If they need to save their lives, they run at a speed of 50 km/h. Representatives of these wild animals swim, have excellent hearing and sense of smell, but their eyesight is very poor.

Bison feed mainly at night. They eat grass.

Their habitat is North America (Canada, central states).

The following subspecies are distinguished:

forest (live to the north, in the forest);
plain or steppe (live in the southern prairies).

Preservation

Today, they try to keep North American bison in protected areas and in zoos, since their numbers have sharply decreased since the 19th century. The millions of livestock of their mighty ancestors became vulnerable to European colonialists. They were killed simply for fun or to deprive the local Indians of food. In 1889, only 835 copies remained.

They are listed in the Red Book, but thanks to the efforts of the authorities of Canada and the United States, today our planet has up to 30 thousand individuals of this species (not counting domesticated half-breeds).

Bison

The bison's brothers, the bison, live in Russia, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Lithuania. In Europe they are the largest mammal, and also the last of all the wild bulls inhabiting Europe.

The head of the bison is more clearly defined than that of the bison and somewhat smaller in size. The body shape is close to a square, the body is massive, short tail. The color is brown, the hair becomes longer from the back of the head and on the spine.

These animals swim well, jump high, and live up to 40 years.

There are Caucasian and Belovezhsky bison. The former became extinct at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the latter are under the protection of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Due to the outstanding genetic qualities of bison and bison, attempts are being made to domesticate and use them in developing new breeds.

Buffaloes

Another worthy representatives of wild bulls and cows are buffalos, relatives of bison, yaks, etc.

There are two types of buffalo:

Asian (tamaraw, mountain anoa, anoa, Asian buffalo);
African.

Asian genus

An individual from the Asian genus is a wild bull with huge horns up to 2 m long. Its horns look back and resemble a crescent moon. The height of a buffalo is about 2 m, body length is 3 m, weight is up to 900 kg.

There are also small specimens among them. This is a Tamaraw. Their height is 106 cm, their weight is no more than 300 kg, their body is 220 cm long. There are also anoas 80 cm high and weighing 300 kg, they have no hair, are brown or black, nibble grass at night, and hide from the scorching sun during the day, plunged into the mud.

By the will of man, the species is on the verge of extinction, although it is placed in protected areas. For example, tamaraws do not produce offspring in captivity. Most Asiatic buffalo are domesticated. They give milk. Live on the territory Southern Europe, in Africa, South Asia.

Capturing wild bulls using jeeps and helicopters

Angry bulls gored 23 people in Spain

All breeds of cows. More than 300 breeds

African gender

The African buffalo is divided into subspecies: Cape, Sudanese, dwarf (red), mountain, Nile. As the name implies, it lives in Africa (mountains, savannas, forests). It likes to live near large sources of water and in fields with dense vegetation, but is also able to feed on dried bushes.

The weight of Africans sometimes reaches 1200 kg, and their height is 1.6 m. The physique is stocky, the legs are short. The head is decorated with powerful horns curved upward. The length between the two ends of the horns is about 1 m. On the forehead of males they grow together, turning into a bulletproof helmet.

The color is black or dark brown, the hair is coarse and sparse.

Poor vision is compensated by excellent hearing and sense of smell. These are collective animals, ready to come to the rescue of their fellow and snatch him from the clutches of a predatory beast.

Zebu, yak and gaur

Zebu

Zebu is a resident of hot regions (Africa, South America, Asia), but India is considered its homeland. The muscle-fat hump is his calling card.

Another feature is that this wild bull is not afraid of bloodsuckers, because fat with a specific aroma is released from the skin, and they are also not afraid of high temperatures.

In India, this representative has been tamed and used in agriculture for transportation, etc.

Yaks

It is not easy to study the yak; it avoids people, although some of the animals are domesticated and provide milk, meat, and wool. He is comfortable in the wild. Being strong and ferocious, it can withstand the harshest conditions. On this moment lives in Tibet.

Its height is about 2 m, body length is 4 m (females are smaller: under 1.6 m tall). Huge horns, 95 cm, adorn his head, diverge to the sides, then bend. There is a hump on the back. The coat is shaggy and very long, covering the limbs completely. The color is gray-black, brown, white spots on the face.

Gaur

The Indian gaur is an example of a peace-loving giant. With such impressive dimensions (height 2.2 m and above, weight 1000-1500 kg) he is not at all ferocious. Although wild gaur cows are much smaller in size, they are quite fearless. Gyaurs have strong, long limbs and large horns that grow perpendicular to the ground.

These animals are also called Indian bison, and domesticated individuals are called gayals. Their color is dark brown, but their legs are light.

The largest number of bulls has been preserved in dense thickets jungles of Indonesia and India.

Mighty animal wild bull is a decoration wildlife. Let's find out what species exist in nature, how they differ and what they look like.

One of the largest herbivores in North America. The height of the animal’s body reaches 2 meters, and its length reaches 2.5 or even 3 meters. The front part of the bison's body is massive and clearly defined, while the back part is much weaker, and muscle mass there's less on her. The chest, head and part of the back of the North American animal are covered with hair, often felted.

All bison are horned, but the horns are expressed differently. The animals have a short tail with a tassel at the end, the color is predominantly brown and black, but there are also white and gray individuals. There are steppe and forest bison. A wild steppe bull is usually smaller than a forest bull at a similar age, has more hair, and its horns are hidden by bangs. Lesnoy is a direct descendant of Bison priscus - the primitive bison.

The wild North American bull loves spacious pastures, semi-desert plains and well-lit areas, forest glades. The weight of an adult male is more than a ton, females weigh much less. Within the species, zoologists distinguish another variety, the closest relative of the bison - the bison. Bison and bison interbreed, and their offspring, bison, are used by populations different countries for working in the fields. For example, in India or Africa they are used to plow fields.

European bison

Another member of the wild bull family. Very similar to a bison, but the head is more clearly defined and smaller in size. The European bison is the most large mammal throughout Europe. He is also the last representative of the genus of wild ancestors on the European mainland. The animal has a brown coat color, powerful body(the shape is closer to square), an elongated row of hair along the spine from the withers and a short tail.

Bison are divided into Belovezhsky and Caucasian. The Caucasian had a curly and thicker coat than the Belovezhsky. Unfortunately, it was finally exterminated in 1927. Its relative Belovezhsky currently lives in European nature reserves and is protected International Union Nature Conservation.

Forest bull

The wild forest (forest tur) or Bos taurus primigenius lived in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the Eastern Hemisphere. The closest relatives of their forest ancestor are now Ukrainian livestock. The forest aurochs became extinct as a result of active hunting and deforestation by humans. The death of the last representative of this species occurred in 1627. Externally, the animal looked massive, weighed up to a ton, its height was 180 cm. The color of the males was black with a white stripe along the back, and the females were brown with a reddish tint.

Forest aurochs lived in small groups or alone, only uniting into larger herds for the winter. Nowadays, scientists from the Oostwardersplasse nature reserve (Netherlands) introduced the Heck bull, which looks like a wild one. Thanks to the efforts of zoological breeders, today we can see what the forest tour looked like during life.

Indian bull (Zebu)

It lives in the lands of India in the tropical and subtropical latitudes of the continent. Zebu belongs to an independent subspecies that is in no way connected with the tour. In India, these bulls are used for household needs - they serve as transport (they harness themselves to carts) and as assistants to farmers (they plow fields). Zebu is held in high esteem not only in India; they are especially respected in Madagascar. There, the wild Indian bull is considered sacred.

In some regions of India, zebu are crossed with domestic cows, resulting in hardy hybrids that produce milk and have more strength than the average cow. Average weight Such an animal weighs 600-800 kg, the body surface is smooth, there is a characteristic “hump” at the withers and a chest fold. Not only in India there are zebu, large zoos and nature reserves willingly keep them (for example, the zoo in Baku).

Gaur

Considered to be the largest wild bull in the world. Gaurs are peaceful but very imposing creatures. It reaches a height of 3 meters, weight - more than 1600 kg. In some sources, the gaur is called the Asian or Indian bison. The color is dark brown, the legs are light, the coat is smooth, short and shiny, neat, but big horns, located perpendicular to the ground. IN natural environment Gaurs form herds, remain independent and fearless, since even tigers attack these animals extremely rarely.

The domesticated form of gaur is gayal (or mitun). In India, these animals are very popular. They differ from the gaur only in their smaller size and larger horns of variable shape. Guyals can often be found walking freely on Indian streets or harnessed to a cart.

Video “American Bison – History of the Species”

An interesting story from National Geographic about the life of bison in the wild, the enemies of these wild bulls and how these heavyweights survive in nature.

The largest wild bull in the world November 2nd, 2013

Typically, herbivorous megafauna are represented as a group consisting of elephants, rhinoceroses and giraffes. However, one of the most specific representatives of megafauna is the Indian bull. With a height of under 3 meters (10 feet), the gaur is a truly gigantic animal, and the largest wild cow in the world. This massive creature with truly enormous horns can tear through the forests and fields of India, sometimes destroying gardens as well.

This species is critically endangered, although it is immune to most threats and weighs up to 1,600 kg (3,500 lb). Among the megafauna that can break their way through tropical vegetation, only elephants, rhinoceroses or giraffes can do more and taller. The gaur is more docile than the African buffalo, but sometimes human casualties occur. There was a case when a tiger attacked a gaur. Gaur literally tore the tiger in half.

Let's find out more about them...

Few wild bulls can compare with the gaur in beauty, strength and size. This is perhaps the largest bull in the world, and therefore the most major representative family of bovids, both today and in prehistoric times. The gaur's skull is 68 cm long - larger than any skull of the giant bison. It is not only the largest and strongest, but also the most beautiful of the bulls.

The gaur is sometimes called the Asian bison, and indeed, in its build it is slightly reminiscent of its American relative. Gaura is distinguished from other bulls by its very powerful physique, prominent muscles and impressive appearance.

If the appearance of the African buffalo can symbolize indomitable power, then the gaur personifies calm confidence and strength. The height at the withers of old males reaches 213 cm, weight -800-1000 kg. Thick and massive horns from the base bend slightly down and back, and then up and slightly inward. Their length in males reaches 100-115 spruce, and the distance between the ends is 120 cm. The forehead is wide and flat. Female gaurs are much smaller, their horns are shorter and thinner. Hairline dense, short, adjacent to the body, the color is shiny black, less often dark brown, the animals have white “stockings” on their legs. Although the gaur's range covers a vast area including India, Nepal, Burma, Assam and the Indochina and Malacca peninsulas, the population of this bull is small. In fact, it was preserved only in national parks and reserves. Not only hunters are to blame for this, but also frequent epizootics of foot-and-mouth disease, plague and other diseases.

True, a strict ban on hunting throughout the entire territory and vigorous quarantine supervision seemed to have marked a certain turning point in the situation of the gaur, and its numbers have increased last years increased slightly. Gaur inhabits wooded areas, preferring mountain forests up to 2000 m above sea level. However, it avoids continuous forests with dense undergrowth and stays in cleared areas near clearings. However, gaur can also be found in bamboo jungles, as well as on grassy plains with bushes. He resolutely avoids cultivated lands. Gaur's favorite food is fresh grass, young bamboo shoots, bush shoots. It needs regular watering and bathing, but, unlike buffaloes, it does not take mud baths. Gaurs graze early in the morning and before sunset, and sleep at night and at noon. Gaurs live in small groups, which usually include 1-2 adult bulls, 2-3 young bulls, 5-10 cows with calves and teenagers. Along with this, groups consisting only of young bulls are not uncommon. Adult strong males often leave the herd and lead the life of hermits.

In a herd of gaurs, a certain order is always observed. The calves usually stay together, and the whole kindergarten“is under the vigilant protection of mothers. The leader of the herd is often an old cow, which, when the herd runs away, is in the head or, conversely, in the rearguard. Old bulls, as observations have shown, do not participate in defense and do not even react to the alarm signal, which sounds like a high-pitched snort. Hearing such a snort, the remaining members of the herd freeze, raising their heads, and, if the source of the alarm is identified, the nearest animal emits a rumbling moo, according to which the herd takes up a battle formation. The gaur's method of attack is extremely interesting. Unlike other bulls, it attacks not with its forehead, but with its side, and lowers its head low and crouches somewhat on its hind legs, striking to the side with one horn. It has been noticed that in old bulls one of the horns is noticeably more worn than the other. Zoologist J. Schaller believes that this style of attack developed from the usual posture of imposing and threatening for gaurs, when the animal demonstrates its huge silhouette from the most impressive angle.

By the way, Gaur fights, as a rule, do not go further than demonstrations. The rutting period for gaurs begins in November and ends in March - April. At this time, single males join the herds, and fights between them are common. The peculiar calling roar of the gaur during the rut is similar to the roar of stag deer and can be heard in the evening or at night at a distance of more than one and a half kilometers. Pregnancy lasts 270-280 days, calving occurs more often in August - September. At the time of calving, the cow is removed from the herd and in the first days she is extremely cautious and aggressive. Usually she brings one calf, less often twins. The milk feeding period ends in the ninth month of the calf's life. Gaurs willingly form herds with sambars and other ungulates.

They are almost not afraid of tigers, although tigers occasionally attack young animals. The special friendship between gaurs and wild chickens is described by zoologist Olivier, who in 1955 was able to observe how a young rooster cleaned the festering, damaged horns of a female gaur every day for two weeks. Despite the pain of this operation, the cow, when she saw the rooster, laid her head on the ground and turned her horn towards the “orderly”. Ghayal is nothing more than a domesticated gaur. But as a result of domestication, the gayal has changed greatly: it is much smaller, lighter and weaker than the gaur, its muzzle is shorter, its forehead is wider, its horns are relatively short, very thick, straight, conical. Gayal is more phlegmatic and calmer than Gaur. However, gayals are kept differently from domestic cows in Europe.

They always graze on complete freedom, and when you need to catch a gayal, you lure it with a piece of rock salt or tie a cow in the forest. Gayal is used for meat, in some places it is used as a draft force, and among some peoples of South Asia it serves as a kind of money or is used as a sacrificial animal. Gayala cows often mate with wild gaurs.

Domestic cows and bulls have already become a part of our lives. Even city dwellers know what they look like, and have seen these animals more than once in villages grazing along the roads. Who was the ancestor of domestic cows and bulls?

Indian buffalo is widely used in agriculture

Tour

The famous wild forest bull is the aurochs, the ancestor of domestic cattle.

Habitat

Lived in the Eastern Hemisphere:

throughout Europe;
North Africa;
Asia Minor;
In the Caucasus.

However, he was exterminated. Only a few of these bulls remain in the forests of Central Europe. In 1400 they were met on the territory of Belarus, Poland, and Lithuania. But even there, the number of animals decreased every year; in 1627, the last representative of this species died.

Appearance

What did the famous wild forest bull look like? It was an animal weighing up to 800 kg. Its height is 170-180 cm. There were horns on its head. Mature males are black, but there is a decoration along the back - a narrow white stripe. Females and young animals were brown, with a reddish tint. They preferred to live in forest-steppes, but gradually moved to forests. They ate grass and shoots. They gathered in herds.

Reconstruction appearance tour

Bulls are found everywhere. The famous wild American bull is the bison that was the master North America. Huge herds of these animals lived here. They had no natural enemies, except for wolves, and even those could not defeat an adult animal. But the first Europeans killed animals to local residents there was no food source. The number of animals fell from 600 million to 835.

Now the number of bison has increased to 30 thousand. But you can no longer find wild individuals in the USA and Canada.

Appearance

The bison is distinguished by its strength and size. Its body is up to 3 m in length. It is covered with gray-brown fur. It is distinguished by its thickness and length. Therefore, bison do not freeze in winter. The back is decorated with a hump. The head and neck are darker. Bulls are larger, their weight is up to 1.5 thousand kg.

Habitat and food

They live in North America. They choose flat areas, but are also found in forests. For them, the main thing is to have a source of food. They feed on herbaceous vegetation. In winter, they dig out food for themselves under layers of snow. They choose places where there is dense vegetation to live. They live in herds: males live separately, females with calves also live separately. In a herd, the oldest male is the leader.

Bison - North American wild bull

European bison

Appearance

This contemporary of the mammoth is an animal whose body length reaches 3 m, height – up to 2 m, weight up to 1 ton. There is a hump. Coat color is dark brown. Curly hairs adorn the head, chest and shoulders, and front legs. The mane is striking in males; in cows and calves it is not so pronounced.

About the animal

A bison can easily overcome an obstacle of 2 m. It can swim. He has no natural enemies. They have a keen sense of smell and hearing, but their eyesight is poor. They eat grass and tree leaves. They live in herds. If two people compete for the place of the leader, the issue is resolved by a fight. The loser leaves. Bison live 30-40 years.

European bison can swim and jump high

Yak

The main decoration of animals is horns. Wild bull with huge horns - this is a yak. This subspecies of bull was domesticated in the first millennium. Domestic yaks are not as large as wild ones, their character is calmer, and their colors are different.

Appearance

The height of the yak at the withers is up to 2 m, length – 4 m in males. Females are smaller: up to 2.8 m long and 1.6 m high. There is a hump on the back. The horns are long, look to the sides, and then bend, their length is up to 95 cm. The fur is long and shaggy, it completely covers the legs of the bull, brown or grayish-black, but white spots are visible on the muzzle.

About the animal

Wild yak has not been studied, because this subspecies lives only where there are no people. Now they are found only in high mountain Tibet. But there are not many of them left there either. They live in herds or families; old bulls prefer solitude. Life expectancy is 25 years. wild yaks there is very little left, because they die out in territories developed by people. These are fierce and strong animals. Tibetan chronicles speak of them as animals dangerous to humans. He, without hesitation, attacks the person who attacks him, so such a hunt is deadly. Killing him is not easy, because... Yak is hardy.

Wild yak carefully avoids people

The largest wild forest bull is the gaur. This is also a rare animal. They live in India, there are 30 thousand Gaurs, in other countries there are fewer of them - only a few hundred.

Appearance

The largest bull amazes with its size. Its height at the withers is 1.7 - 2.2 m, and its weight is 700-1000 kg, but there are individuals that weigh 1.3 -1.5 tons. Females are slightly smaller. The horns are also huge, up to 90 cm, shaped like a crescent.

A ridge stands out on the back, which stretches from the shoulders to the middle of the body.

The skin is dark brown, covered with short hair. Older males are black. The top of the head is slightly lighter.

About the animal

They are active during the day, but where there are many people, they prefer to stay awake at night. Females and calves live in herds, while males live alone. They feed on grass, plant shoots and fruits. In hot weather they prefer to hide in the shade of trees. They live up to 30 years. Natural enemies are tigers and crocodiles.

Gaur can weigh up to one and a half tons

Buffaloes

It is also strong and brave big bulls. There are 4 types of buffalo:

African.
Indian.
Dwarf (anoa).
Tamaraw.

Most large subspecies among the buffaloes. Its weight can reach 1200 kg, but this is rare. The height is relatively small - 1.5-1.6 m. Some subspecies are much smaller than these sizes. Males are always larger than females. Coat color is black. They have poor vision and rely on their sense of smell.

The African buffalo does not see well, so it relies on smell

The length of adult individuals is more than 3 m, and the height reaches 2 m. The average weight is about 900 kg, but it can be more. The length of the horns reaches up to 2 m, they are directed backward and look like a crescent. Now there are not many representatives of this species left, because... people are destroying their habitat. These wild bulls eat grass early in the morning or in the evening. During the day they prefer to hide from the heat by immersing themselves in liquid mud.

They live in herds, but old bulls prefer solitude.

Tamaraw

This is an animal from the genus of Indian buffaloes, differing from them in its small stature and the shape of its horns. Its height is 106 cm, body length is 220 cm, it weighs from 180 to 300 kg. The color of the skin is black or dark brown, with a dark line visible on the back. This is an endangered species and is therefore protected by law. In captivity, they do not reproduce, so the number of animals is rapidly falling every year. The main threat is the lack of habitat for these animals. These are solitary animals; females and calves live in groups that remain throughout the year.

Tamaraw - Philippine buffalo

Anoa

The smallest bull is the anoa. Its body length is only 160 cm, and its height is 80 cm. Males weigh 300 kg, females are 2 times less. They are hairless, the skin is brown or black. Under threat of extinction. This animal is protected by law, but poachers shoot them in order to sell them to tourists. Therefore, the population size decreased by 90% (from 1079 to 1994).

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Wild bull with a long. The meaning of the word bison in a large modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language

The meaning of the word BISON in the Great Modern explanatory dictionary Russian language

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what BISON is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

Progenitor tour

Description

Reason for disappearance

Bison and bison

Buffalo

Bison lifestyle

Preservation

Bison

Buffaloes

Asian genus

African gender

Zebu, yak and gaur

Zebu

Yaks

Gaur

European bison

Forest bull

Indian bull (Zebu)

Gaur

Video “American Bison – History of the Species”

Tour

Habitat

Appearance

Appearance

Habitat and food

European bison

Appearance

About the animal

Yak

Appearance

About the animal

Appearance

About the animal

Buffaloes

Tamaraw

Anoa