The American bison (Bison bison; pl.: bison), commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo (not to be confused with true buffalo), is a species of bison that is endemic (or native) to North America. It is one of two extant species of bison, along with the European bison.

A bison (pl.: bison) is a large bovine in the genus Bison (Greek: "wild ox" (bison) [1]) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, B. bison, found only in North America, is the more numerous.

Mar 16, 2025 · Bison in a snowstorm, Yellowstone NP WY. Photo by George Wuerthner. The wild bison in Yellowstone National Park are the last major herd of buffalo, the least domesticated members of their genus left in the United States. When Yellowstone was established in 1872, an estimated 25 wild bison roamed the park, a relic of the great herds that once ...

Sep 25, 2023 · Bison, or North American Buffalo (Bison bison), are the largest land mammal in North America. Prior to European settlement, millions of bison ranged more widely across the landscape than any other native large herbivore.

May 7, 2024 · Modern North American bison have two recognized subspecies: the American Plains Bison (B. b. bison) and the American Wood Bison (B. b. athabascae) (McDonald 1981) (Prusak et al 2004)

May 10, 2023 · It is estimated that around 60 million bison roamed the continent, providing food, shelter, and much more through their deeply rooted relationship with Indigenous nations prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Mar 5, 2025 · In the vast grasslands and plains of North America, one majestic creature stands as a testament to resilience and the delicate balance of nature: the American bison. Once roaming in herds that numbered in the millions, these iconic animals …

Aug 22, 2015 · The American bison, Bos bison, is a large mammalian herbivore that was once numbered in the tens of millions and was distributed throughout most of North America, with numbers greatest in the grasslands of the Great Plains.

In this short paper, I will use an abbreviated discussion of contemporary tribal bison ranching (see BRAUN 2004) to show how native communities put historically important ecological relations in a new context of economic development and sovereignty.

In 2016 Barack Obama signed a law making the bison the national mammal of the United States (the bald eagle, recently recovered from its own brush with extinction, remains the national animal). The relation of contemporary bison to the noble former inhabitants of the Great Plains is far from straightforward.