What if you wished you were a bison? Then you became a bison calf.

Could you eat like a bison? Bathe like a bison? Live in a bison family?

And would you want to? Find out!

Where would you live? 

Most bison live on prairies in North America.

Prairies have grasses and flowers, but not many trees.

Summers are hot and dry. Winters are cold and snowy.

Bison do not stay in just one spot. They roam all around the prairie.

What would your family be like? 

Adult female bison are called cows. Young bison are called calves. 

Cows and calves live together in groups called herds.

What would your family be like?

Adult female bison are called cows. Young bison are called calves.

Cows and calves live together in groups called herds.

A bison mom has a calf each spring.

Calves can stand up and walk just a few minutes after being born!

A bison calf stays near its mom for almost a year.

It drinks her milk and cuddles against her thick fur.

How would you talk?

Bison talk with grunts and snorts. They also talk with their tails.

A bison wags its tail when it's calm. 

When a bison is angry or scared, its tail stands up straight.

When a bison is upset, it lowers its head and charges.

It will smash its head into anything that bothers it.

Bison bulls will also crash their heads together to show who is the strongest.

How would you learn to be a bison?

Bison calves learn by playing. 

They push their heads together and charge each other for fun.

Bison calves love to run.

Running helps them grow strong and fast.

Bison calves must be fast to keep up with their herd.

A herd will run suddenly to escape from wolves or bears.

This is called stampeding.

What would you eat?

Bison eat grass-lots and lots of grass!

This is called grazing. It is easy to graze in the summer.

In winter, bison must find grass under deep snow.

They sweep their heads from side to side to move the snow off the grass.

How would you wash up?

Bison don't use soap and water to get clean.

They take dust baths.

Rolling in the dirt helps bison get rid of bugs and shed itchy fur.

This is called wallowing.

How would growing up change you?

A bison calf is born with red fur.

Within a few months, its fur begins to grow darker.

A calf will also start to grow horns and a hump on its shoulders.

Male bison have bigger horns and shoulder humps than females.

After about three years, a male calf leaves his mom's herd to join a herd of bulls.

A female bison stays with her mother's herd for her whole life.

At about three years old, she is ready to have a calf of her own.

Being a bison could be cool.

But do you want to live in a herd?

Eat grass all day long?

Wallow in the dirt?

Luckily, you don't have to.

You're not a bison.

You're YOU!