Where is the peak of the shoulder hump located in the wood bison relative to the front legs?
Answer
Anterior to (forward of) the front legs.
The placement of the shoulder hump is cited as one of the most reliable visual markers separating the wood bison from the plains bison. In the wood bison, the apex of the massive shoulder hump rises sharply, located anteriorly, or forward of, where the front legs attach to the body, rising almost straight up from the neck area before sloping dramatically down toward the hindquarters. This specific physical configuration is highly functional, enabling the animal to use its powerful forward musculature to effectively utilize its head as a snowplow to clear deep, powdery snow to reach underlying forage materials like grasses and sedges.
Related Questions
What metric generally distinguishes wood bison from plains bison (Bison bison bison)?Where is the peak of the shoulder hump located in the wood bison relative to the front legs?What physiological adaptation allows wood bison to survive severe seasonal food scarcity?What critical environmental challenge did the Alaskan reintroduction of wood bison face due to unique winter conditions?Which specific diseases carried by introduced plains bison spread to wood bison herds in WBNP?By what approximate percentage are wood bison typically heavier than plains bison?What is the approximate gestation period for female wood bison following breeding during the rut?When did the Canadian government relocate surplus plains bison into Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP)?Which Canadian park became the base for establishing disease-free conservation herds after the 1957 rediscovery?What is the sense in which wood bison are considered the closest living relatives to the extinct steppe bison (*Bison priscus*)?What specific feeding advantage does the wood bison’s massive head provide when reaching forage in winter?