Their diet consists of various grasses and forbs like vetch, a favored summer food found on gravel bars. Sedges, silverberry, willow, and ground birch are also eaten. In winter, bison forage on dried grasses, forbs and shrubs. Behavior Bison have excellent senses of smell and hearing, which are used to detect danger. These animals are capable of distinguishing large objects from a distance of one-half mile and moving objects from one mile away.
Bison are migratory animals by nature and have seasonal movement patterns.
Alaska's wild bison do not remain in a single large herd but scatter into small groups that range in size up to 50 or more animals. Learn more about bison from the Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series . All Rights Reserved.