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Description
Bison of Pleistocene North America

Bison represent the most unique of all extant megafauna. The last survivors of the quaternary extinction event occurring some 10-11,000 years ago. Today, two species, Bison bison and Bison bonasus inhabit America and Europe respectively. They are the only mammals on both continents where males can routinely clock in at over a ton in weight.

American bison are icons of the Great Plains, America's last megafaunal herbivores, and survivors from the ice age and near extinction around 220 years ago. However, despite their size, they are not the first bovines that ruled the plains. As little as 35,000 years ago, 3 species of bison dominated North America.
These animals would form the core of the various ecosystems that would dominate Pleistocene America from as far north as Alaska to as far south as Mexico.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Bison priscus

The steppe wisent or steppe bison, binomial name: Bison priscus was the first of all bison species to reach America and among the most primitive of all bison. Evolving at the dawn of the Pleistocene around 1,800,000 years ago. They arrived in North America around and 250-270,000 years ago when the land bridge Beringia formed and allowed animals to cross over from Eurasia and into America.

History:

Described in 1827, German anatomist Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus described the species from a relatively complete specimen found in Germany. It was also one of the last descriptions he would give as he would die the same year this animal was described. He identified it as a bison species, giving it the species name "priscus" which in Latin means "ancient".

Description:
In terms of appearance, the steppe bison was average size for a large bovine. Around the same size as the wood bison of today. At 6ft tall at the shoulder, and 10ft long, weighing in at just over a ton, this would have been a common sight on the northern steppes of North America. They had a characteristic humped back like most bison, but midway down the torso and to the hindquarters, it had a more abrupt drop-off from hump to hindquarters than bison and wisent of today.

Predators in North America, namely in Beringia would have been wolves, scimitar-toothed cats, and lions. In fact, the lattermost predator likely was the cause of death for a very famous specimen (more details given later).

Range:

Fossils of the species been found as far west as Spain ranging across the UK, Europe into Eurasia, and as far east as Alberta in North America. It was one of the most wide-ranging of all megafaunal animals during the Late Pleistocene.

Blue Babe:

The most famous steppe wisent specimen is "Blue Babe", named after Paul Bunyan’s trusted steed from the tall tales of America. It was a ~36,000-year-old male steppe bison that was mummified and entombed in the cold steppes of the Pleistocene. It was found in the permafrost near Fairbanks, Alaska by prospecting Gold miners in 1979. Instead of gold, they discovered something much more amazing.

Habitat and Behavior:

While missing most of his hair, Blue Babe offered an insight into what these magnificent beasts were like. Subsequent studies into Blue Babe have shown various details not just about steppe bison, but about his habitat, his evolution, and how it died.
Its habitat was a vast stretch of mammoth steppe. This was the most common type of ecosystem during the Pleistocene stretching from Portugal to Newfoundland. As the name implies, it was the perfect habitat for woolly mammoths, but also bison, lions, and various horses across Eurasia and into the new world. These creatures would have filled a similar niche to American bison today. Being primarily grazers and living together groups on the steppes across Canada, Alaska, and Beringia.

It along with other bison species formed what some paleontologists called, "The Pleistocene Bison Belt" that stretched from Alaska to as far south as Mexico. However, Blue Babe and its kin were most prevalent in the northern regions of America. Given the extent and name of this Belt, one might think this animal would dwell in massive plains. However, this is not the case. Contrary to popular belief, huge herds of Bison didn't arise until the Holocene. As far as social behavior, it is believed they lived in groups more reminiscent of modern wisent or gaur of India. This will be discussed later.
DNA studies done on Blue Babe have shown that the steppe bison is actually the most basal of all the bison species that roamed America. From the modern-day American bison to the high-humped ancient, and the long-horned giant bison, this was the progenitor of all the species that lived across the new world.

Death of the Animal:

In terms of how Blue Babe died, subsequent studies of Blue Babe’s body have shown marks on his hindquarters, closely resembling claw marks from a felid. While the neck meat is gone (will be discussed later), the scratch marks match perfectly with that of lions. Furthermore, a fragment of lion tooth was discovered near the back of this animal. Indications suggest that a gang of cave lions ganged up on Blue Babe and he was unable to fight them off and he died. However, because he was buried so quickly and was relatively intact, it could be assumed that the cave lions did not have a chance to feast on his remains when a massive blizzard rolled in and buried him in the snow.
As awesome as this animal is, what’s not often talked about is how scientists partially butchered and ate him. Right after they discovered Blue Babe, the head scientist, Dale Guthrie scientists accidentally broke off a part of his neck. Instead of attempting to re-attach it for when they put it on display, the scientists stewed it and then ate it to mark the occasion of discovering this historic specimen. While they enjoyed their feast, they also destroyed the region which could have shown what happened to Blue Babe's neck and perhaps, they even could have found more marks from his attackers.

The steppe wisent is now believed to have been the progenitor of all modern American bison species both living and extinct. And its descendants (which were also contemporaries) would thrive in the new world throughout the Pleistocene.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Bison latifrons

The largest of all bison and all bovines, in general, was Bison latifrons, the giant bison or long-horned bison.

History:

Described in 1825 by famed anatomist Richard Harlan described fossils from Kentucky consisting of a partial skull He gave it the name Bos latifrons, the specific name in Latin meaning "broad-fronted". It would later be assigned to the genus Bison, with some studies calling it "Superbison" because of its size. However it was called, species or genus-wise, one cannot argue that all were apt descriptions for this creature.

Description:

Weighing in at more than 2 tons, more than 8ft tall at the shoulder, and 15ft long from nose to tail, this was a titan of the Pleistocene. A male's massive horn cores were up to 8ft from tip to tip, but those were just the bony cores, however, they could have been wider with the keratinous sheaths.

Behavior:

In 2015, University of Las Vegas student, Fabian Ceron Hardy published his master's thesis on the various attributes of the fossil finds of giant bison. What he found was rather surprising.
For one, it was posited that this giant bovine did not evolve into the ancient bison. A steppe bison subspecies, Bison priscus alaskensis is now believed to be the giant bison's ancestor which appeared approximately 200,000 years ago and would eventually give rise to this giant approximately 160,000 years ago. However, the steppe bison would also give rise to the more numerous and widespread Pleistocene bison, the Ancient Bison. While both the ancient and steppe bison would occupy similar niches as grazing animals, the giant bison would take a very different evolutionary path.
This leads to the more important aspect of this study, the isotope content, overlap with other species of Pleistocene megafauna, as well as microwear in the teeth show that these bison were likely browsing animals. What this study suggests is that the giant bison lived more like the modern Indian bison, the gaur than modern-day bison.

Diet:

The behavioral and dietary implications suggest that these giants ate from various trees, bushes, and woodier plants. Far different from the grazing lifestyle compared to modern bison. Also, they likely lived in smaller family groups compared to the massive herds of their contemporary relatives. They would have thrived in woodland environments browsing their days away on vegetation, and on occasion, the massive horns would be used in combat between rival males in disputes of territory or to compete for mates.
Furthermore, one could assume that, like the modern-day Gaur, given its larger body size, the giant bison could have had less hair than its cousins. Given its more browsing-oriented lifestyle, it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Predators:

Even weighing over 2 tons, they still would not have been immune to predation. Saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and both cave and American lions would have been just some of the predators these massive beasts would have faced in the New World.

Range:

Fossils of this bison have been found across America and into Mexico. However, it should be noted that fossils of this species, while numerous, no complete specimen has been found. The most complete elements were the skulls of these bison, with their massive horns being the easiest to identify.

Despite the fact these were the largest, they would not be the most successful. Fossils were not as common as their relatives, and, as will be discussed, they would not live to the end of the Pleistocene. Nonetheless, these magnificent beasts would have been among the largest creatures that walked the forests of Pleistocene America.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Bison antiquus

Arguably, the most numerous, but also the most recognizable of all Ice Age bison species in America was Bison antiquus or the antique or ancient bison.

History:

Described in 1852 by famed paleontologist Joseph Leidy, it was described from teeth as well as left partial horn core that Leidy was similar but anatomically different from modern-day American bison. The main differences were that it was bigger and had more robust horn cores. He gave this bison the specific name "antiquus" which means (as its name implies) "ancient" or "antique" in Latin.
As it turns out, Leidy was right as future finds would vindicate these fragments as being distinct.

Range:

Among the most complete and well-known specimens are known from Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in Southern California near the heart of LA. They're among the most common herbivorous mammals found in the tar pits with more than 300 specimens known from the pits. Many of them being well preserved fossilized skulls and horn cores, but, they found some complete specimens that painted a unique picture of this bovine.

Description:

The more complete specimens have shown that the antique bison was larger than any modern-day bison and steppe bison. In fact, on average, this bison species was at least a quarter bigger than the extant American bison. However, the most notable characteristic was the pronounced neural spines that formed a massive hump that gave the bison a distinctive humpbacked appearance. Like modern-day Bison, the hump is not an area to store fat for when food is scarce like a camel, but it's an anchor point for massive muscles, namely for the head of the bison. The muscular shoulder hump certainly gave it more height to its frame as well. At 7.5ft tall at the top of the hump, 11-13ft in length, and a horn span of 3ft these were among the most numerous of all bison that roamed across America.

Habitat:

Their habitat, like modern-day bison, would have been the various grasslands of Pleistocene America. Fossils have been found in America ranging from southern Alaska to Mexico. However, higher concentrations of them have been found not just in California, but also in Florida, Colorado, and Texas as well. They would have been largely grazing animals, consuming large quantities of grass, munching their days away on the grass across America.

Classification:

Taxonomy-wise, these creatures arose around 85-100,000 years ago and they became widespread across the North American continent filling the role of the primary grazing herbivores across the grasslands and prairies. It's largely believed that ancient bison is the direct ancestor of modern-day American bison. Over time this bison would gain a smaller hump/neural spines, smaller horns, and overall smaller body size since its bodily demands were not as high as the ancient bison. This would culminate in the modern American bison which was actually a fairly recent arrival to the plains of North America.

Social Behavior:

Much like their ancestors on the mammoth steppe, their behavior would not have been that different as modern-day bison of the American prairies. As with their northern dwelling cousins of Eurasia, these beasts dwelled in smaller groups similar to modern wisent. Why was this the case? The biggest reason is primarily human beings. Smaller groups hunting with spears would be more susceptible to being picked off. If they formed groups in the dozens or even hundreds, they'd be less susceptible to being picked off. Considering they were already on a plain environment, larger groups would come together and congregate into larger herds. As the ancient bison evolved, it would become the bison we know today.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Extinction

Approximately 30,000 years ago, most of the bison had diversified and had occupied their own habitats. While all 3 species had some overlap, there was some distinction from each animal's regions.
Generally, one would see steppe wisent in northern Canada across Alaska and of course passing back into their ancestral homeland through Beringia. They would gather in large groups with the occasional ancient bison group alongside them in Canada and Alaska. Ancient bison largely had colonized the lower 48 states and reached the grasslands of Mexico occupying a similar niche to their cousins up north. Finally, the giant bison inhabited the forests and woodlands across North America from Southern Alaska, into Canada, down through the lower 48, and into Mexico, with their largest populations being in the plains states of Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

The extinction of most of the ice age bison is believed to have been down to both climate change as well as overhunting as with most megafauna of the new world.
However, the giant bison never encountered a human hunter. Around 22,000 years ago, the giant bison faced the expansion of grasslands throughout North America caused this more forest-oriented bovine to go extinct long before the first human hunters arrived in the new world.

Both the steppe bison as well as the ancient bison have been discovered with evidence of butchery across Eurasia and America. In Nebraska, spear points were found in association with adult ancient bison bones. The ancient bison went extinct around the same time as other megafaunal animals, ~10-11,000 years ago. However, the steppe bison would persist in northern Alaska till ~5,400 years ago before climate change and human encroachment would catch up to them. As the modern bison congregated into herds, their contemporary megafaunal animals would die off around them. For thousands of years, they lived in relative equilibrium with Native Americans.

In North America, it's estimated that 60,000,000+ bison once roamed America, a relic of the ice age, as they had next to no large predators to kill them. Until the 1500s that is. Following the colonization of the new world, bison populations in North America plummeted to as low as 300 in North America.
Thankfully, unlike their larger ice age cousins, these beasts were able to bounce back from extinction due to captive breeding from zoos, conservation programs, and protected sanctuaries. Once we caused the extinction of their descendants, but now, we saved them from the brink of extinction.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
TOLD YOU IT WAS SOMETHING BIG! A three in one profile featuring all major American bovines!!!

Okay, at first I made giant bison remake, BUT, I ultimately decided to make all 3 bison species that lived in Pleistocene North America. This took about 2 hours altogether to make the models and skins respectively.
Will I make more profiles like this? Possibly, but it really depends on the environment and species I cover. I do have some other megafauna from North America in mind.

Also, big thanks to zoobuilder21 's artwork, not just because the art is AWESOME, but I was trying to find a paper that discussed the giant bison's physiology and behavior.
Long Horned Bison (with Background)
Stable Isotope Analysis of Bison latifrons and Paleoecological Inferences (unlv.edu)
^^^Here's the paper if you're curious. It also gave a distinct timeline on when these Bison appeared in America.

Now, I know that both ancient and steppe bison have similar skins, but, there is a reason for that. Given that these species/populations are more closely related/associated with the new world, I figured that they would resemble American bison more than Wisent.

-So, for the giant bison, I slightly increased the hump height and of course, increased the horn span. I also reskinned the front of the body and head because as the paper described, this animal lived more like a gaur, was not a direct descendant of modern bison so I based it primarily off of the paper, and if the bison was less furry. However, I didn't want to go all the way and make it look more Gaur-like so I just deleted the hairy areas on the head and legs and retextured the belly, legs, head, and torso using the good ol' clone stamp tool. At first, I used DoctorSamWu 's giant bison as a base, but I decided to instead use an American bison model because the ears were not rigged.

-The ancient bison, gave it a slight horn span increase and added the MASSIVE hump, and modified the coat slightly. What more do you need? Also, I should note the paper that Leidy wrote was this:
Memoir on the extinct species of American ox. - Biodiversity Heritage Library (biodiversitylibrary.org)

-Steppe wisent I took the American bison made by JimmyHoopz and modified it to give it a flattened back and elevated hump and made no changes to the skin. Not just Blue Babe backs this up, but the cave paintings as well.
The steppe bison is primarily based on these Deviations:
Bison preview by Homero13 on DeviantArt
Bison priscus by sinammonite on DeviantArt

Will they be in Past Meets Present? YES. They're essential animals to the variety of ecosystems in Eurasia and America and I needed to make them. As far as if I'll rescue any? IDK. MAYBE, I have barely got an outline ready for the next couple of episodes.

Original Models and Skin by JimmyHoopz modified by me:
American Bison (JimmyzHoopz) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

For Past Meets Present:
Past Meets Present (Pt4 is Up) - The ZT2 Round Table

Description
Bison of Pleistocene North America

Bison represent the most unique of all extant megafauna. The last survivors of the quaternary extinction event occurring some 10-11,000 years ago. Today, two species, Bison bison and Bison bonasus inhabit America and Europe respectively. They are the only mammals on both continents where males can routinely clock in at over a ton in weight.

American bison are icons of the Great Plains, America's last megafaunal herbivores, and survivors from the ice age and near extinction around 220 years ago. However, despite their size, they are not the first bovines that ruled the plains. As little as 35,000 years ago, 3 species of bison dominated North America.
These animals would form the core of the various ecosystems that would dominate Pleistocene America from as far north as Alaska to as far south as Mexico.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Bison priscus

The steppe wisent or steppe bison, binomial name: Bison priscus was the first of all bison species to reach America and among the most primitive of all bison. Evolving at the dawn of the Pleistocene around 1,800,000 years ago. They arrived in North America around and 250-270,000 years ago when the land bridge Beringia formed and allowed animals to cross over from Eurasia and into America.

History:

Described in 1827, German anatomist Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus described the species from a relatively complete specimen found in Germany. It was also one of the last descriptions he would give as he would die the same year this animal was described. He identified it as a bison species, giving it the species name "priscus" which in Latin means "ancient".

Description:
In terms of appearance, the steppe bison was average size for a large bovine. Around the same size as the wood bison of today. At 6ft tall at the shoulder, and 10ft long, weighing in at just over a ton, this would have been a common sight on the northern steppes of North America. They had a characteristic humped back like most bison, but midway down the torso and to the hindquarters, it had a more abrupt drop-off from hump to hindquarters than bison and wisent of today.

Predators in North America, namely in Beringia would have been wolves, scimitar-toothed cats, and lions. In fact, the lattermost predator likely was the cause of death for a very famous specimen (more details given later).

Range:

Fossils of the species been found as far west as Spain ranging across the UK, Europe into Eurasia, and as far east as Alberta in North America. It was one of the most wide-ranging of all megafaunal animals during the Late Pleistocene.

Blue Babe:

The most famous steppe wisent specimen is "Blue Babe", named after Paul Bunyan’s trusted steed from the tall tales of America. It was a ~36,000-year-old male steppe bison that was mummified and entombed in the cold steppes of the Pleistocene. It was found in the permafrost near Fairbanks, Alaska by prospecting Gold miners in 1979. Instead of gold, they discovered something much more amazing.

Habitat and Behavior:

While missing most of his hair, Blue Babe offered an insight into what these magnificent beasts were like. Subsequent studies into Blue Babe have shown various details not just about steppe bison, but about his habitat, his evolution, and how it died.
Its habitat was a vast stretch of mammoth steppe. This was the most common type of ecosystem during the Pleistocene stretching from Portugal to Newfoundland. As the name implies, it was the perfect habitat for woolly mammoths, but also bison, lions, and various horses across Eurasia and into the new world. These creatures would have filled a similar niche to American bison today. Being primarily grazers and living together groups on the steppes across Canada, Alaska, and Beringia.

It along with other bison species formed what some paleontologists called, "The Pleistocene Bison Belt" that stretched from Alaska to as far south as Mexico. However, Blue Babe and its kin were most prevalent in the northern regions of America. Given the extent and name of this Belt, one might think this animal would dwell in massive plains. However, this is not the case. Contrary to popular belief, huge herds of Bison didn't arise until the Holocene. As far as social behavior, it is believed they lived in groups more reminiscent of modern wisent or gaur of India. This will be discussed later.
DNA studies done on Blue Babe have shown that the steppe bison is actually the most basal of all the bison species that roamed America. From the modern-day American bison to the high-humped ancient, and the long-horned giant bison, this was the progenitor of all the species that lived across the new world.

Death of the Animal:

In terms of how Blue Babe died, subsequent studies of Blue Babe’s body have shown marks on his hindquarters, closely resembling claw marks from a felid. While the neck meat is gone (will be discussed later), the scratch marks match perfectly with that of lions. Furthermore, a fragment of lion tooth was discovered near the back of this animal. Indications suggest that a gang of cave lions ganged up on Blue Babe and he was unable to fight them off and he died. However, because he was buried so quickly and was relatively intact, it could be assumed that the cave lions did not have a chance to feast on his remains when a massive blizzard rolled in and buried him in the snow.
As awesome as this animal is, what’s not often talked about is how scientists partially butchered and ate him. Right after they discovered Blue Babe, the head scientist, Dale Guthrie scientists accidentally broke off a part of his neck. Instead of attempting to re-attach it for when they put it on display, the scientists stewed it and then ate it to mark the occasion of discovering this historic specimen. While they enjoyed their feast, they also destroyed the region which could have shown what happened to Blue Babe's neck and perhaps, they even could have found more marks from his attackers.

The steppe wisent is now believed to have been the progenitor of all modern American bison species both living and extinct. And its descendants (which were also contemporaries) would thrive in the new world throughout the Pleistocene.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Bison latifrons

The largest of all bison and all bovines, in general, was Bison latifrons, the giant bison or long-horned bison.

History:

Described in 1825 by famed anatomist Richard Harlan described fossils from Kentucky consisting of a partial skull He gave it the name Bos latifrons, the specific name in Latin meaning "broad-fronted". It would later be assigned to the genus Bison, with some studies calling it "Superbison" because of its size. However it was called, species or genus-wise, one cannot argue that all were apt descriptions for this creature.

Description:

Weighing in at more than 2 tons, more than 8ft tall at the shoulder, and 15ft long from nose to tail, this was a titan of the Pleistocene. A male's massive horn cores were up to 8ft from tip to tip, but those were just the bony cores, however, they could have been wider with the keratinous sheaths.

Behavior:

In 2015, University of Las Vegas student, Fabian Ceron Hardy published his master's thesis on the various attributes of the fossil finds of giant bison. What he found was rather surprising.
For one, it was posited that this giant bovine did not evolve into the ancient bison. A steppe bison subspecies, Bison priscus alaskensis is now believed to be the giant bison's ancestor which appeared approximately 200,000 years ago and would eventually give rise to this giant approximately 160,000 years ago. However, the steppe bison would also give rise to the more numerous and widespread Pleistocene bison, the Ancient Bison. While both the ancient and steppe bison would occupy similar niches as grazing animals, the giant bison would take a very different evolutionary path.
This leads to the more important aspect of this study, the isotope content, overlap with other species of Pleistocene megafauna, as well as microwear in the teeth show that these bison were likely browsing animals. What this study suggests is that the giant bison lived more like the modern Indian bison, the gaur than modern-day bison.

Diet:

The behavioral and dietary implications suggest that these giants ate from various trees, bushes, and woodier plants. Far different from the grazing lifestyle compared to modern bison. Also, they likely lived in smaller family groups compared to the massive herds of their contemporary relatives. They would have thrived in woodland environments browsing their days away on vegetation, and on occasion, the massive horns would be used in combat between rival males in disputes of territory or to compete for mates.
Furthermore, one could assume that, like the modern-day Gaur, given its larger body size, the giant bison could have had less hair than its cousins. Given its more browsing-oriented lifestyle, it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Predators:

Even weighing over 2 tons, they still would not have been immune to predation. Saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and both cave and American lions would have been just some of the predators these massive beasts would have faced in the New World.

Range:

Fossils of this bison have been found across America and into Mexico. However, it should be noted that fossils of this species, while numerous, no complete specimen has been found. The most complete elements were the skulls of these bison, with their massive horns being the easiest to identify.

Despite the fact these were the largest, they would not be the most successful. Fossils were not as common as their relatives, and, as will be discussed, they would not live to the end of the Pleistocene. Nonetheless, these magnificent beasts would have been among the largest creatures that walked the forests of Pleistocene America.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Bison antiquus

Arguably, the most numerous, but also the most recognizable of all Ice Age bison species in America was Bison antiquus or the antique or ancient bison.

History:

Described in 1852 by famed paleontologist Joseph Leidy, it was described from teeth as well as left partial horn core that Leidy was similar but anatomically different from modern-day American bison. The main differences were that it was bigger and had more robust horn cores. He gave this bison the specific name "antiquus" which means (as its name implies) "ancient" or "antique" in Latin.
As it turns out, Leidy was right as future finds would vindicate these fragments as being distinct.

Range:

Among the most complete and well-known specimens are known from Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in Southern California near the heart of LA. They're among the most common herbivorous mammals found in the tar pits with more than 300 specimens known from the pits. Many of them being well preserved fossilized skulls and horn cores, but, they found some complete specimens that painted a unique picture of this bovine.

Description:

The more complete specimens have shown that the antique bison was larger than any modern-day bison and steppe bison. In fact, on average, this bison species was at least a quarter bigger than the extant American bison. However, the most notable characteristic was the pronounced neural spines that formed a massive hump that gave the bison a distinctive humpbacked appearance. Like modern-day Bison, the hump is not an area to store fat for when food is scarce like a camel, but it's an anchor point for massive muscles, namely for the head of the bison. The muscular shoulder hump certainly gave it more height to its frame as well. At 7.5ft tall at the top of the hump, 11-13ft in length, and a horn span of 3ft these were among the most numerous of all bison that roamed across America.

Habitat:

Their habitat, like modern-day bison, would have been the various grasslands of Pleistocene America. Fossils have been found in America ranging from southern Alaska to Mexico. However, higher concentrations of them have been found not just in California, but also in Florida, Colorado, and Texas as well. They would have been largely grazing animals, consuming large quantities of grass, munching their days away on the grass across America.

Classification:

Taxonomy-wise, these creatures arose around 85-100,000 years ago and they became widespread across the North American continent filling the role of the primary grazing herbivores across the grasslands and prairies. It's largely believed that ancient bison is the direct ancestor of modern-day American bison. Over time this bison would gain a smaller hump/neural spines, smaller horns, and overall smaller body size since its bodily demands were not as high as the ancient bison. This would culminate in the modern American bison which was actually a fairly recent arrival to the plains of North America.

Social Behavior:

Much like their ancestors on the mammoth steppe, their behavior would not have been that different as modern-day bison of the American prairies. As with their northern dwelling cousins of Eurasia, these beasts dwelled in smaller groups similar to modern wisent. Why was this the case? The biggest reason is primarily human beings. Smaller groups hunting with spears would be more susceptible to being picked off. If they formed groups in the dozens or even hundreds, they'd be less susceptible to being picked off. Considering they were already on a plain environment, larger groups would come together and congregate into larger herds. As the ancient bison evolved, it would become the bison we know today.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Extinction

Approximately 30,000 years ago, most of the bison had diversified and had occupied their own habitats. While all 3 species had some overlap, there was some distinction from each animal's regions.
Generally, one would see steppe wisent in northern Canada across Alaska and of course passing back into their ancestral homeland through Beringia. They would gather in large groups with the occasional ancient bison group alongside them in Canada and Alaska. Ancient bison largely had colonized the lower 48 states and reached the grasslands of Mexico occupying a similar niche to their cousins up north. Finally, the giant bison inhabited the forests and woodlands across North America from Southern Alaska, into Canada, down through the lower 48, and into Mexico, with their largest populations being in the plains states of Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

The extinction of most of the ice age bison is believed to have been down to both climate change as well as overhunting as with most megafauna of the new world.
However, the giant bison never encountered a human hunter. Around 22,000 years ago, the giant bison faced the expansion of grasslands throughout North America caused this more forest-oriented bovine to go extinct long before the first human hunters arrived in the new world.

Both the steppe bison as well as the ancient bison have been discovered with evidence of butchery across Eurasia and America. In Nebraska, spear points were found in association with adult ancient bison bones. The ancient bison went extinct around the same time as other megafaunal animals, ~10-11,000 years ago. However, the steppe bison would persist in northern Alaska till ~5,400 years ago before climate change and human encroachment would catch up to them. As the modern bison congregated into herds, their contemporary megafaunal animals would die off around them. For thousands of years, they lived in relative equilibrium with Native Americans.

In North America, it's estimated that 60,000,000+ bison once roamed America, a relic of the ice age, as they had next to no large predators to kill them. Until the 1500s that is. Following the colonization of the new world, bison populations in North America plummeted to as low as 300 in North America.
Thankfully, unlike their larger ice age cousins, these beasts were able to bounce back from extinction due to captive breeding from zoos, conservation programs, and protected sanctuaries. Once we caused the extinction of their descendants, but now, we saved them from the brink of extinction.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
TOLD YOU IT WAS SOMETHING BIG! A three in one profile featuring all major American bovines!!!

Okay, at first I made giant bison remake, BUT, I ultimately decided to make all 3 bison species that lived in Pleistocene North America. This took about 2 hours altogether to make the models and skins respectively.
Will I make more profiles like this? Possibly, but it really depends on the environment and species I cover. I do have some other megafauna from North America in mind.

Also, big thanks to zoobuilder21 's artwork, not just because the art is AWESOME, but I was trying to find a paper that discussed the giant bison's physiology and behavior.
Long Horned Bison (with Background)
Stable Isotope Analysis of Bison latifrons and Paleoecological Inferences (unlv.edu)
^^^Here's the paper if you're curious. It also gave a distinct timeline on when these Bison appeared in America.

Now, I know that both ancient and steppe bison have similar skins, but, there is a reason for that. Given that these species/populations are more closely related/associated with the new world, I figured that they would resemble American bison more than Wisent.

-So, for the giant bison, I slightly increased the hump height and of course, increased the horn span. I also reskinned the front of the body and head because as the paper described, this animal lived more like a gaur, was not a direct descendant of modern bison so I based it primarily off of the paper, and if the bison was less furry. However, I didn't want to go all the way and make it look more Gaur-like so I just deleted the hairy areas on the head and legs and retextured the belly, legs, head, and torso using the good ol' clone stamp tool. At first, I used DoctorSamWu 's giant bison as a base, but I decided to instead use an American bison model because the ears were not rigged.

-The ancient bison, gave it a slight horn span increase and added the MASSIVE hump, and modified the coat slightly. What more do you need? Also, I should note the paper that Leidy wrote was this:
Memoir on the extinct species of American ox. - Biodiversity Heritage Library (biodiversitylibrary.org)

-Steppe wisent I took the American bison made by JimmyHoopz and modified it to give it a flattened back and elevated hump and made no changes to the skin. Not just Blue Babe backs this up, but the cave paintings as well.
The steppe bison is primarily based on these Deviations:
Bison preview by Homero13 on DeviantArt
Bison priscus by sinammonite on DeviantArt

Will they be in Past Meets Present? YES. They're essential animals to the variety of ecosystems in Eurasia and America and I needed to make them. As far as if I'll rescue any? IDK. MAYBE, I have barely got an outline ready for the next couple of episodes.

Original Models and Skin by JimmyHoopz modified by me:
American Bison (JimmyzHoopz) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

For Past Meets Present:
Past Meets Present (Pt4 is Up) - The ZT2 Round Table