Long-Horned Bison Colouring

Bison latifrons is called the giant bison or giant long-horned bison. It lived across North America during the Pleistocene, with fossils found from Canada through the United States and into Mexico. It was taller and heavier than most living bison, and some males carried horn cores spanning more than two metres from side to side. The full horn sheath would have made the spread even wider. A high shoulder hump supported powerful muscles, while a shaggy head and forequarters contrasted with shorter hair toward the rear. The horns probably displayed size and helped males compete, though their exact behaviour cannot be observed. It ate grasses and other low plants across open woodland and prairie. Fossils are much more common for males, perhaps because large horns or male behaviour affected where their bones accumulated. This bison disappeared during the Late Pleistocene, but it does not have a known final year. Its youngest generally accepted remains are tens of thousands of years old, earlier than the last mammoths and mastodons. Some researchers view later North American bison as smaller descendants or close relatives that replaced the giant form as climates and habitats changed. No named last individual exists. Because the fossil record is incomplete, it would be misleading to blame a single human hunt. Changing food, competition and evolution within the bison family are safer explanations, with exact relationships still studied. Colour the thick forequarters dark chocolate, reddish brown, charcoal or black-brown, leaving small white highlights in the fur. The hindquarters can be a lighter tan or warm brown. Make the horns cream near the base and darker grey or brown toward the tips. Use smooth strokes that follow the horns sideways so their great span stays obvious. Prairie grasses can mix gold, olive and green, while sagebrush may be silver-green. Colour the far hills pale blue, purple or rust. The tiny distant pronghorn can be tan and white. Short jagged strokes create shaggy fur; long even strokes suit the body and sky. Keep the space above and beside the horns bright. The result should show why this animal's width, rather than just its height, amazed palaeontologists.

◫ A4 size✎ Bold outlines♡ Ages 3–8

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