American Bison

The American bison (Bison bison), also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds. They became nearly extinct by a combination of westward expansion, commercial hide hunting and introduction of diseases from cattle. Their historical range roughly comprised a triangle between the Great Bear Lake in Canada’s far northwest, south to the Mexican states, and east to the Atlantic Seaboard.  Two subspecies  have been described: the plains bison (B. b. bison), smaller in size and with a more rounded hump, and the wood bison (B. b. athabascae)—the larger of the two and having a taller, square hump. The wood bison is one of the largest wild species of bovid in the world

 

Poland

Page 1  2 Poland helped save the European Bison   Warsaw, Poland live camera feed. http://www.lasy.gov.pl/informacje/kampanie_i_akcje/zubryonline Environmentalists Protest Hunting Bison Plan in Poland Warsaw, Poland.  THE NEW YORK TIMES Jan. 2 2017 Greenpeace had gathered almost 9,000 signatures online by Monday afternoon on a letter asking Prime Minister Beata Szydlo to stop the plan. The opponents say Europe’s largest mammals, which live in old-growth forests in northeastern Poland, are endangered and protected by law, and a symbol of Poland’s nature. There are over 1,500 bison in Poland, mostly living freely in state-owned reserves but also on private farms. Environment authorities have allowed … Read more

New Zealand

American Bison  Years ago while visiting NZ, we heard the rumor that Teddy Roosevelt donated eight bison to NZ in the early 1900’s. I have searched off and on over the years and can find no proof of that. After reading the American Bison Society reports through the years, that move would have been uncommon. America was still trying to save the bison and to make a gift of eight head would have been huge. Normally gifts to other countries were one to maybe three head. Here, the ABS was still actively raising money,  ranchers were still donating to our … Read more

Mexico

American Bison in Mexico   Photos are owned and taken by Javier Carrera he can be reached on Instagram @heyjavoo   (Like most images on this site, they are clickable) Thank you, Javier, for showing us the beauty of bison in Chihuahua, Mexico               May 2026, Coahuila, last year they introduced 44 bison , 38 females and 6 Bulls. They just has at least 3 news calves this year with more expected.  In April twenty nine bison were moved to Cuenca Los Ojos protected area in Sonora, from Chihuahua  The Cuatro Ciénegas herd of American … Read more

Kiowa

Santana Kiowa War Chief Of all the white people’s activities in Indian country, none enraged and disheartened the Native Americans more than the destruction of their buffalo. Hide hunter Billy Dixon reminisced that the annihilation “lay at the very heart of the grievances of the Indian against the white man in frontier days.” At the Medicine Lodge Treaty Council of 1867, the great Kiowa chief Satanta complained bitterly about the army’s shooting of his buffalo. “A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers,” lamented Satanta, “but when I go up to the river I see a camp of … Read more

Kickapoo

Kickapoo ceremonial dance. Gen. Sheridan was perfectly capable of conducting covert military operations while refusing to issue explicit written orders. Indeed, in 1873, he secretly ordered Colonel Mackenzie and his Fourth Cavalry to invade Mexico to crush the Kickapoos, Lipans, and Mescalero Apaches who were engaged in raids into the United States from their northern Mexican sanctuaries. sanctuaries. Sheridan issued secret spoken orders to Mackenzie in meetings held at Fort Clark and elsewhere. No record of these meetings was kept. The only source of information about what transpired is Lieutenant Robert G. Carter, Mackenzie’s adjutant. Carter did not attend the … Read more

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, It has been a locale for human use and occupation for millennia, with ruins and artifacts from inhabitants dating back nearly 12,000 years, In the early 1800s, trappers and expeditions sent by the U.S. government began to explore and map the canyon. It was first afforded Federal protection in 1893 as a Forest Reserve and later a National Monument, achieving National Park in 1919. http://www.history.com/topics/grand-canyon http://www.arizona-leisure.com/grand-canyon-history.html The Grand Canyon has been home to Native Americans for thousands of years. About 10,000 years ago, paleo-hunters were known to have hunted big game throughout the area. More … Read more

Germany

American Bison in Germany   Germany Bison Association Wilderness Society Bison Association in Germany https://bison-zuchtverband.chayns.net/ticker?v=0 German bison breeders: These are wild animals, not cattle Directly from the dpa news channel Aug 30, 2020 Heeslingen/Osnabrück (dpa/lni) – The bison breeders in Germany are demanding a legal classification of their horned cattle as wild animals. “We as an association want bison to be classified as wild animals again,” said association chairman Hans-Jürgen Schröder in Osnabrück to the German Press Agency. So far, bison have been considered cattle, which means that there are corresponding requirements for disease protection. Yearly blood tests for brucellosis, leukemia and other … Read more

France

American Bison in France The Hickman Currier Hickman, Kentucky Sep 13, 1895 Gigantic remains of elephants have been found in a new railroad cutting in the Department of the Charente, France. Besides two tusks, one of the extraordinary length of 9 1/2 feet, there are elephants molars and bones, remains of mammoth, teeth of rhinoceros, bison and hippopotamus, and a large number of flint instruments. The discovery of human relics with remains of such antiquity is very unusual.   The Connexion French News and Views July 2019, Nineteen head of American bison escaped their enclosure and had wandered off to … Read more

Denmark

American Plains Bison located at the bottom of the page Enhancing natural grazing (June 2021) With an area of over 7,600 hectares, Lille Vildmose (“Little Wild Bog”) is Denmark’s largest protected natural area and the largest remaining raised bog in northwest Europe. The landscape is diverse, comprising open, expansive areas of bog, lakes, fens, birch scrub, forest, plains and mossy areas. These habitats support a healthy population of wild boar and many rare bird species, such as golden eagles, while moose and red deer have recently been reintroduced. The area, which became a member of Rewilding Europe’s European Rewilding Network (ERN) in 2016, is … Read more

Choctaw

Preserving Choctaw heritage through buffalo herd For hundreds of years before Europeans came to the United States, the Choctaw Nation was a tribe of farmers who lived in what is now the southeastern U.S. until the federal government forcibly removed most tribal members in 1830 to Southeastern Oklahoma in what became known as the “Trail of Tears.” Tribal members have overcome adversity to grow to nearly 200,000 strong, the country’s third largest tribe. The tribe’s growing business enterprises have allowed it to work to improve the lives of tribal members who have a rich tradition of serving in the military … Read more