Steppe bison (Bison priscus). The inhabitant of Eurasia and North America in the Middle and Late Pleistocene (360 - 130 thousand years ago). Length - 3 m, height - 2 m, weight - 1.2 t. The pasture is widely roaming with a low set head. Half-open spaces of forest-steppes and woodlands, where herbaceous plants served as the main food, were favorite habitats. Like a mammoth, it accumulated fat reserves and had thick winter coat. One of the main types of animals of mass seasonal migrations, during which, over a large extent of its range, it directly affected the productivity of the Pleistocene ecosystems. During the period of migration, the steppe bison formed numerous herds stretched in space, which covered huge distances during the daytime. Eating in the summer, the buffalo trampling compacted and fertilized the soil on which many plants grew, serving as food for smaller pasture animals. It was resistant to an abundance of blood-sucking insects, which in turn around a herd of bison attracted a large number of various insectivorous birds. Marmots and ground squirrels give preference to pastures of bison and horses, as there is lower, juicy grass with better visibility to watch for predators. In winter, during migrations, mixed herds of bison and other large hooves trampled and cleared vast pastures, woodlands and forest-steppes from snow, revealing layers of last year's dry vegetation. Constantly moving, they compacted the snow cover, with the help of a heavy head they punched a system of trenches - passages that were regularly used. Bison loosened 70-centimeter snow and jokingly coped with the infusion, thanks to a special arrangement of hooves. Such trenches - passages served as freeways and resting places for small roe deer, deer, wild boars, fallow deer, mouflons, wild horses, saigas. Also, loosening snow, the bison opened access to dry grass of the same species, which in turn helped small ungulates survive the snowy and frosty winter.