Its original range included much of the boreal forest regions of Alaska, Yukon, western Northwest Territories, northeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, and northwestern Saskatchewan.

[20] Mating season typically runs from July to September, with most activity occurring during August as evidenced by the fact most calves are born in May following a 9-month gestation period.

Bison young are precocial, with many mastering the skills required to evade predators, such as running and kicking, on the same day they are born.

[25] Due to frequent and heavy snowfall in their native habitat, food availability fluctuates throughout the year, leading to a diverse and varied diet.

Deep snow often creates a barrier between the bison and their food source, so they must use their large heads and neck muscles to dig for edible morsels.

[26] Their increased body mass over their southern cousin, the plains bison, produces more heat and provides a larger frame on which to store fat for the winter months.

In addition to greater nutrient absorption, the slower digestion rate means more heat is produced as a byproduct of metabolizing the food, further contributing to maintaining body temperature.

Although wood bison are native to Canada and Alaska, they have also been introduced to Yakutia, Russia as part of an ongoing species restoration project.

[32] Natural hybridization between wood and plains bison presumably occurred for a limited extent in the regions where the two ecotypes (or subspecies) overlapped.

Diseases including brucellosis and tuberculosis remain endemic in the free-ranging herds in and around Wood Buffalo National Park.

[35] The diseases represent a serious management issue for governments, various local indigenous groups, and the cattle industry rapidly encroaching on the park's boundaries.

[37] There they were to be held in quarantine for two years and then reintroduced to their native habitat in the Minto Flats area near Fairbanks, but this plan was placed on hold.

Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule allowing the reintroduction of a "non-essential experimental" population of wood bison into three areas of Alaska.

[40] Currently, about 7,000 wood bison remain in wildernesses within the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba.

[41][42] Recently, several bison herds that are disease-free, and genetically unique compared to the populations within Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP), have been detected.

[45] To strengthen the protections, a new sanctuary Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park was established in 2019 by a historic collaboration of the government and indigenous communities including first nations.