Broad-faced bison: American nature trembled at their appearance (6 photos)

Bison and bison are very impressive and respected animals these days. Their length can reach 3 meters, and their weight can be more than 1200 kg. But for some of their ancestors, such dimensions are even embarrassing to say out loud. These were bison of a completely different level, the real fathers of the bull tribe and, in general, of the entire land ruminant suborder! And they were called broad-faced bison.





Looking at this colossus, you understand that size matters.

North America became the homeland for megabison. Their ancestors, steppe bison, came here from Asia along the Bering Isthmus, and they liked it here so much that they decided to become the main bull on the entire planet. And they began! This happened about 250,000 years ago.



You can’t just lure such cows into a pen...

The horned ones reached 4.75 m in length, 2.5 m at the withers and weighed up to two tons! Even modern black rhinoceroses would nervously light up at this moment. Such dimensions make pitching gobies one of the largest bulls and land ruminants in the history of the planet.





Will we butt heads? Or have you changed your mind?

The brutality of the buffalo fathers was added by the fat “hump”, in which supplies were stored for times of famine. But their most important bovine advantage is their giant horns. Because of the hanger on their heads, they were called broad-browed - the span of the processes reached more than two meters!



Before the advent of the Longhorn breed, these bulls were the cows with the largest horn span.

Broadmouths grazed in small herds in the open spaces of North America. Even the most dangerous predators of those times were afraid to approach the group of horned brutals: saber-toothed Smilodon cats and huge short-faced bears.



Me: I'm going to the refrigerator. My cat: slowly sneaks behind me, thinking that I won’t notice him.

A two-ton colossus can easily make holes in the carcass of any predator, especially if there is more than one horned one. So the broad-headed dads had almost no natural enemies. Only young, sick and old animals were in danger, although the herd often saved them in this case too.



You and the same guy who is “just a friend” for your girlfriend..

But, as you already know, gigantic size and formidable appearance do not at all guarantee long-term prosperity. This is what happened with broad-fronted bison. Approximately 20-30 thousand years ago, their numbers declined, and they were replaced by smaller, but more adaptable modern bison.