Buffalo, those big furry animals also called bison, are the second-biggest animals in North America. A buffalo's body can be up to 11 feet long, and weigh up to 2,000 pounds! But that clunky buffalo can jump 6 feet in the air, and run up to 30 miles an hour! By the late 1800s there were just 541 buffalo in North America, but thanks to national parks there are now about 15,000 of them, plus another half million of them on farmers' ranches.
Wee Ones: A buffalo has 4 legs. Who has more legs, you or a buffalo?
Little Kids: If you're 4 feet tall and a buffalo is 8 feet tall, how much taller is the buffalo?
Bonus: Which weighs more, two 2,000-pound buffalo together, or a 3,000-pound car?
Big Kids: If there were about 500 buffalo in the late 1800s, and then the population doubled twice, how many of them were there then?
Bonus: How many more times does the number have to double to reach at least 15,000?
Answers:
Wee Ones: The buffalo!
Little Kids: 4 feet taller.
Bonus: The two buffalo.
Big Kids: 2,000 buffalo.
Bonus: It would have to double 3 more times, to 4,000 buffalo, then 8,000, then 16,000.