ARK: Survival Ascended Guide | How To Tame Bison

Do you want to tame one of these brand new furry bovine friends in ARK: Survival Ascended on Ragnarok? They're actually remarkably easy to tame, though a little bit tanky when it comes to knocking out.

What You Need to Know Before the Tame

It's important to know that Bison can damage thatch and wood, but they do not damage stone and up. So, if you're planning to build a trap to capture one, you need to do it with stone. You can create a very simple trap with just four pillars and two walls between each one.

Once the Bison is inside, go ahead and place walls behind it to seal it in. This also works really well if you're using the brand-new Build Hammer.

Knocking Out the Bison

These guys are incredibly tanky in terms of torpor. When knocking them out, you can use a regular primitive rifle, but it's best to use shocking tranquilizer darts.

For example, a level 150 Bison has quite a decent chunk of torpor, so trapping and knocking it out will be much easier than trying to run around chasing it.

Be cautious, as Bison have a kind of speed-up effect—when they run at you, they go faster and faster, very similar to a Dire Bear. If they hit you, they'll knock you down, and it will hurt quite a bit.

Feeding and Taming

The Bison's preferred food is Superior Kibble. If you don't have any on hand, use veggies, which are pretty easy to find in the Highlands. They also accept berries, but using those will reduce taming effectiveness and take a lot more time.

For reference, a level 150 Bison with certain settings may only take two Superior Kibble, but depending on your server settings, that number might vary.

Once you've tamed your Bison, you'll need to be level 50 in order to craft its saddle.

Bison's Unique Abilities

The Bison has some really amazing abilities, particularly milk production. Only female Bison can produce milk, and they do so only after giving birth. The milk is produced in their inventory. When you approach the Bison, you'll have the option to milk it, and the milk will go directly into your inventory.

This milk does not stack—similar to Wyvern Milk—unless you have a stacking mod on your server. You'll need to place it into the inventory of the creature you want to feed.

This is important because you can feed Bison milk to baby Bison or even to baby Wyverns as a replacement for regular Wyvern Milk. This makes Bison incredibly useful, especially if you're planning on raising Wyverns on Ragnarök or any other map in the future.