Bison
Bison (bī"son; 277) , noun
[Latin bison, Greek bi`swn, a wild ox; akin to Old High German wisunt, wisant, German wisent, Anglo-Saxon wesend, Icelandic vīsundr: compare French bison.]
Efforts at conservation of the American bison resulted in setting aside several reserves, and by 1990 a few stable herds were established, numbering from hundreds to thousands, roaming certain public areas, such as Yellowstone Park, some reserves in Canada, and some private reserves. Some bison are kept as range animals for food, and the American bison has been bred with domestic cattle to form a cross called the beefalo. The American bison is commonly (though improperly) called a buffalo; an image of the bison appeared on the inverse of the U. S. five-cent coin (nickel) from 1913 to 1937, and that coin was referred to as the buffalo nickel.