How do you tame a Bison in ARK: Survival Ascended?

The Bison is a knockout tame. Knock it unconscious using Tranq Arrows, Tranq Darts, or Shocking Tranq Darts, then feed it Superior Kibble for the best taming effectiveness. Use a taming calculator to determine the exact food and narcotic quantities needed for your target level.

What does a Bison eat in ARK: Survival Ascended?

The best food for taming a Bison is Superior Kibble. It also accepts Base Veggie, Mejoberry, Amarberry.

Where can you find Bison in ARK: Survival Ascended?

Check the interactive spawn map on the Bison spawn location page for exact spawn zones across all ARK maps. Spawn density and locations vary by map.

How long does it take to raise a baby Bison?

A baby Bison takes 1 day and 18 hours to reach full maturity. Use a breeding calculator for imprint timing and food requirements.

Bison Taming, Breeding & Spawns - ARK: Survival Ascended

Bison

Misc

Bison

Spawn Command

Information

Level

Preset

Official servers currently have boosted rates! You don't need to change settings in our calculator.

Base Settings

Variant

Taming Speed

Spawn Locations

4 mapsFull Map →

Found across 4 maps in beaches, grasslands, and river areas. Green zones have the highest spawn density. Each species has a population cap per area, so wiping out other creatures nearby can trigger new Bison spawns.

Official

Map Legend

High spawn density

Medium spawn density

Low spawn density

Cave spawn

Click any cell for exact spawn chance and nearby spawn groups. Zoom in for detail.

Explore full interactive mapAstraeos →

Bison Taming Calculator

Open Calculator→

KnockoutTime: 28m 47s|Effectiveness: 99.7% (+74 Lvl)|Base Torpor: 500Lv.150

Food	Qty	Time	Effectiveness
Superior KibbleBest	9	28:47	74 Lvl (224)
Archelon Algae	21	31:30	73 Lvl (223)
Crops	81	2:01:30	56 Lvl (206)
Mejoberry	108	2:01:30	47 Lvl (197)
Berries	161	2:00:45	33 Lvl (183)

Required Narcotics (Superior Kibble ×9)

Narcotics46

Narcoberries161

Bio Toxin23

Ascerbic Mushrooms103

Breeding

Open Calculator →

TypeLive Birth

Maturation Time1d 18h

Quick Info

Saddle

Carried By

Immobilized By

XP Calculator

Full Calculator→

Kill XP

Wild Kill (1.25×)

Creature Level

Kill Count

Per Kill318 XP

4 base × 15.9 level × 4 × 1.25× wild kill × 1× server

Server Settings(Game.ini)

Official servers use non-1× defaults; the values above already reflect official rates.

Server XP

Wild Kill

Tamed Kill

Alpha Kill

Cave Kill

Boss Kill

Saddle Crafting XP

Bison SaddleBase: 25 XP · Lv.50

100 XP

Base × 1× quality × 4 × 1× server

Drops & Harvest Resources

The Bison's corpse can be harvested for Hide, Raw Meat, Raw Prime Meat, Keratin. The corpse has 360 harvest health, allowing multiple hits before it's fully depleted.

Consult the harvest breakdown table to optimize your tool choice. Resource quantities depend on the tool used, the creature's harvest health, and your server's harvest rate.

Harvest Body HP

Melee Damage

Weapon Damage

Harvest Multiplier

Resource	Pick	Hatchet
Hide	40%~15~12 hits	60%~22~9 hits
Raw Meat	60%~17~12 hits	40%~11~9 hits
Raw Prime Meat	3%~1~12 hits	2%~0~9 hits
Keratin	2%~1~12 hits	3%~1~9 hits

Estimates based on game-extracted data (weights, quantities, harvest multipliers, damage type chains). Each harvest event independently rolls each resource - higher weight = higher drop chance. Actual yields vary with RNG.

Gathering Abilities

Damage Resistances

Incoming damage to the Bison is modified by 13 different type-specific multipliers. It shrugs off 7 damage types but is weak to 6, with its worst vulnerability at +200%. Focus damage there for maximum efficiency. See the full breakdown in the table below. Values under 100% indicate resistance, above 100% indicate weakness.

FireFlamethrower, fire arrows

40%-60%

Dino AttacksStandard dino melee hits

50%-50%

Plant Species XPlant turret projectiles

50%-50%

ExplosionsC4, Rockets, Grenades

60%-40%

Stone WeaponsClub, slingshot (high torpor)

66%-34%

GenericFall damage, environmental

70%-30%

Base Stats

Full Stats →

Stat	Base (Lv.1)	Wild +/Lv	Tamed +/Lv
Health	800.0	+160.00	+4.00%
Stamina	500.0	+50.00	+2.00%
Torpidity	500.0	+30.00	+0.00%
Oxygen	150.0	+15.00	+2.00%
Food	3250.0	+325.00	+2.00%
Weight	650.0	+13.00	+0.80%
Melee Damage Multiplier	100.0%	+5.00%	+10.00%
Speed Multiplier	100.0%	+0.00%	+1.00%

Hitbox Multipliers

Aiming matters - the Bison has 1 hitbox region with distinct damage modifiers. Hit the Head (1.5x multiplier) for the highest damage per shot.

Headc_jaw

1.50x

Can Damage

The Bison can damage: Thatch, Wood. It can break through Thatch and Wood, so upgrade to Stone at minimum for protection.

Thatch

Wood

Stone

Metal

Tek

Tools & Guides

Taming CalculatorFood, narcotics, and time for any level

Breeding CalculatorMaturation, imprint timers, raising costs

BuildingsCommunity traps, pens, enclosures

AbilitiesAttacks, harvest specs, unique skills

Tips & TricksCommunity strategies and advice

Spawn LocationInteractive maps with spawn zones

Spawn CommandAdmin commands, all variants

Bison Tips & Tricks

Read and share community tips for the Bison in ARK: Survival Ascended. Players often share optimal trap layouts and torpor weapon comparisons for the Bison.

Welcome to the full Bison guide for ARK: Survival Ascended. Here you can quickly review its stats, taming requirements, breeding info, and resource gathering potential, then dive into our detailed calculators and maps for more depth.

The Bison starts with 800 base Health, 100% base Melee Damage, 650 base Weight. These base values scale with each wild and tamed level-up, so check the taming calculator to see exactly what stats you can expect at different levels.

To tame the Bison, knock it out using Tranq Arrows or Darts and feed it Superior Kibble. Head to the taming calculator for precise requirements at any level.

The Bison gives live birth after a gestation period. Babies mature in 1 day and 18 hours. Check the breeding calculator for detailed imprint schedules and raising costs.

Once tamed, the Bison can harvest Hide, Raw Meat, Raw Prime Meat, Keratin. Visit the information tab for the full harvest table with quantities and efficiency data.

The Bison, a tamable, herbivore creature in ARK: Survival Ascended, is a notable presence across multiple maps.

Health-wise, the Bison sits at 800 base, making it solidly tanky. With 100% base Melee Damage, the Bison has decent hitting power. Stamina sits at 500 base, providing respectable staying power. Weight capacity starts at 650, giving it an enormous weight pool.

Taming the Bison requires rendering it unconscious first - use Tranq Arrows, Darts, or Shocking Tranq Darts to apply torpor. Superior Kibble is the most effective food for taming, offering the highest affinity per feeding.

After taming, the Bison is a practical workhorse - it can both gather and haul resources efficiently. Breeding is via live birth rather than eggs, simplifying the process. A wild Bison is worth 4 base experience when killed. It can be cloned at a Cloning Chamber for 0.39 Element plus 0.01 Element per level.

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