The Bison Is the Largest Land Mammal in North America

North America’s biggest land animal is the bison. The U.S. National Park Service states that bison are the largest land-dwelling mammal in North America. A male, or bull, weighs up to 2,000 pounds, and a female, or cow, weighs up to 1,000 pounds. Size does not make them slow. According to the Park Service, bison are agile, are strong swimmers and can run 35 miles per hour. They can jump over objects about 5 feet high. Yellowstone has a special place in their story. It is the only place in the lower 48 states to have had a continuously free-ranging bison population since prehistoric times. It was a close call. By 1902, poachers had reduced Yellowstone’s herd to about two dozen animals. The 2025 population estimate was nearly 5,300.