There are many kinds of very large bison in the world, generally 2-3 meters long, shoulders up to 2 meters, weighing 450 to 1000 kilograms, thick and sharp two horns are curved, looking like a flood beast. Bison mostly inhabit tropical and subtropical montane broad-leaved forests, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, forest edge grass slopes, bamboo forests or savannas, and are accustomed to moving in small groups in forests. Most of them are active in the morning and evening, but some are active at night, and during the day they rest in the shade and eat a variety of grasses, leaves, young branches, bark, bamboo leaves, bamboo shoots, etc. Common bison breeds include Asian bison, American bison, African bison, European bison, Asian buffalo and wild yak, and only some breeds are domesticated by humans.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > Asian bison</h1>
Also known as indian bison, white-limbed bison, etc., it is known for its huge body, its size is comparable to that of the American bison, it is one of the largest cattle in the world, and the adult male bison weighs up to 1225 kg. The body hair of Asian bison is mostly tan or black, and the nose and lips are grayish white. Both males and females have horns, but the females are smaller, while the males' double horns are very majestic, with a considerable degree of curvature, growing from the ridges raised by the frontal bone, first rising vertically, then bending outwards, and then upwards, and finally the horn tips are inward and slightly backward. Because the lower half of the limbs of the Asian bison is white, it is like wearing white stockings, so it is also called a white-limbed bison, and it is called "white socks" in the place of origin. Asian bison mainly inhabit tropical and subtropical montane forests and grasslands, and have a vertical migration habit. In the summer, it is mostly in the mountains at higher altitudes, and in the winter, it gradually moves to the area of the lower altitude, with a wide range of activities, living a wandering life, and there is no fixed residence. They prefer to live in groups, but in small groups, consisting of females, pups and sub-adults, led by a larger female. Adult males are mostly "lone cows", who only return to live in the group during the estrus period and leave after mating. In China, only found in the south and southwest of Yunnan, about 1,000 in the early 1990s, due to nearly 20 years of poaching, in 2013 it has dropped to more than 100, in a very endangered situation. It is mainly found in India, Myanmar and Southeast Asian countries. Due to the excessive temper of the Asian bison, they have lived in the mountain jungle for thousands of years and have not been domesticated by humans.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > American bison</h1>
Also known as the American buffalo, North American bison, etc., as the new "immigrants" of North America, they originated from the European bison in Eurasia and later migrated to the Bering Strait. During the Ice Age, a large amount of water was frozen into glaciers, causing sea levels to drop, revealing the ocean floor continent of the Bering Strait between Asia and the Americas, and many animals on the Eurasian continent crossed to the Americas through this ocean floor "bridge", and the bison was one of them. By 10,000 years ago, when temperatures began to rise again, glaciers melted, and the entire Bering Strait was submerged by the sea, the American bison had gradually replaced the Siberian bison, which was a large number of settlers at the time. Today, the American bison is the largest mammal in North America and one of the largest in the world, weighing up to 1,000 grams, and is also a fierce animal with a pair of sharp horns that bend upwards on its head, and does not flinch even in the face of the most aggressive predators. American bison live in large groups on the Great Plains of the United States and Canada, with dark chestnut-brown hair and large shoulders like mounds. Within the population, each bull forms a collective and defends the cows in the herd, and each cow can produce a calf between June and September every year. The American bison is difficult to domesticate by humans because of its violent temper.
Obama, the 44th President of the United States, signed a bill on May 9, 2016, formally establishing the American bison as the national beast of the United States.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > African bison</h1>
Also known as the African buffalo, Cape of Good Hope buffalo, etc., and the Asian bison is very closely related, in evolution, the ancestors of african buffalo resemble The Asian bison. Widely distributed in much of sub-Saharan Africa, the African bison is predominantly gregarious, with a broad chest, thick limbs, sparse black hairs on its body, large, droopy ears, long horns on its head, and male horns that cover the top of the head like a shield. Males are larger than females, and their horns are larger and longer. African bison are nocturnal creatures that avoid the scorching heat during the day, often hiding in the shade or soaking in pools or mud. The African bison, nicknamed the "Black Reaper", is a vegan animal but one of Africa's most dangerous beasts of prey, along with African lions, African elephants, African leopards and black cows. They are large and can fight fierce African lions one-on-one without defeat. They also attack humans and move faster, so once attacked by African bison, it is an absolute disaster. Because the African bison has long survived in the wild, it is grumpy, wild, and a very difficult wolf character, so it has not been domesticated by humans.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > European bison</h1>
The largest native herbivores in Europe, with a very large body size, shorter hairs on the neck, head and front half, a large head and a broad forehead, a huge front half of the body, a bulge from the shoulders to the front back, a short and strong neck, and strong thoracic spine muscles. Both male and female bison have upward curved horns, and the two horns are thick and sharp and curved, which can be used for combat and defense. European bison prefer to inhabit open spaces with deciduous broad-leaved and bushy areas, mainly herbivorous, but also eat young shoots and leaves, and an adult male bison can consume 32 kg of food a day. European bison were once widely distributed in Europe, and because of overfishing, the last remaining wild European bison died in the western Caucasus in 1627. In 1951, European bison began to be released back into nature and are now found in zoos in Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovakia and Ukraine, as well as in 30 countries. European bison, like the American bison, have a temper that is uncertain, they will attack anything that is not pleasing to the eye, and they are equally difficult to domesticate by humans.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > Asian buffalo</h1>
Also known as the Asian buffalo, wild populations are distributed in Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand. Due to long-term man-made hunting, habitat loss, genetic hybridization and pollution, the number is very rare and it is an endangered species. The Asian wild buffalo prefer to inhabit tropical highland forests, pristine lowland forests, tropical plains, jungles, bamboo forests or reeds, alone or in pairs or in small groups, foraging for aquatic plants in the morning and evening. Asian wild buffalo have thick skin and extremely underdeveloped sweat glands, and need to be immersed in water to dissipate heat when heat, hence the name. They are thick, sparsely haired, mostly gray-black; their horns are thick and flattened and curved backwards; their hooves are large, solid in texture, resistant to soaking; and their knee joints and ball joints are flexible and they can walk freely in mud. The Asian buffalo is the largest species of living bison in the world, and there are few animals in swampy areas that can harm it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > wild yak</h1>
The wild kind of domestic yak, typical alpine herbivores, extremely hardy, is a unique cattle breed of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, inhabits the alpine meadow area of 13,000 to 000 in the sea, inaccessible alpine peaks, mountain basins, alpine grasslands, alpine barren grasslands and other environments, distributed in southern Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, northwest Gansu and western Sichuan, belonging to the national first class of protected animals. They are large and heavy, slightly smaller than the Asian bison, and their body hair is dark brownish black, especially long and rich, especially the hairs on the neck, chest and abdomen almost droop to the ground, forming a curtain, like a suit hanging from the body, which can shield the wind and rain, and is more suitable for climbing ice and lying on the snow. The hairs on the tail are long up and down, like a broom, and appear fluffy and fat, which is very special among cattle. The horns on the head are conical and smooth, first extending to the sides of the head, then bending upwards and backwards, and the corner tips are slightly curved backwards, like a crescent moon. Wild yaks have strong limbs, large and rounded hooves, but the hoof carapace is small and pointed, particularly hard, stable and powerful. Domestic yaks were domesticated by Tibetan ancestors between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago, and gradually became an important part of Tibetan life.
In addition, the wild yak also has a special species of color variation, the golden wire wild yak, which is a critically endangered species. The whole body is covered with gold or golden yellow, the appearance characteristics are no different from other color wild cattle, the number is only about 200, only distributed in the Ali region of Tibet and the northwest of the Nagqu region in China, living in groups, but not living and breeding in groups with wild yaks of other colors.
Original author: Tai Jia
Source: Philatelic Expo
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Editorial: The Story of Yimen Village