72 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



The European bison (Bos bonassus] wisent of the 

 Germans zubr of the Russians stands about six 

 feet high at the shoulder, r and measures about 10 feet i 

 inch from the tip of the muzzle to the root of the tail. 

 The weight of an adult specimen is at least up to 

 1,700 Ibs. Humped on the withers and semi-maned 

 on the shoulders, neck, and chest, it differs from the 

 American bison (miscalled " buffalo") in its larger 

 horns, longer legs and tail, and more powerful hind 

 quarters : the elevation of the withers, although 

 noticeable, is less than in the Transatlantic species, 

 and they are less luxuriantly clad in curly hair. The 

 eye sockets in both animals are tubular ; the colour 

 of the European bison is black-brown on the head, 

 dark brown on the neck and shoulders, and paler 

 brown on the rest of the body. About May this 

 great beast presents a very ragged, untidy appearance, 

 the long winter robe being almost shed ; stray wisps 

 of wool, scattered over the hide, reveal the smooth, 

 mouse-coloured coat beneath. The tongue, palate, 

 and, it is also said, the roasted meat of this bison are 

 of a bluish colour ; in the wild state it exhales an 

 aromatic scent, especially about the head. The 

 longest recorded horns measure 8j^ inches along 

 the outside curve, with a basal girth of 12^ inches. 1 



Once widely distributed through Spain, Switzer- 

 land, Germany, Russia, and Poland, the bison as a 



1. A bison cow with unequal horns was shot in the Caucasus in 1895 ; 

 length of right horn 15 inches, left 17 inches ; circumference at base 7 in., 

 greatest span 10^ in. ; tip to tip 2 in. 



