Bison

The bison (Bison bison) is the largest land mammal in North America.

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Bison Details

The bison (Bison bison) is the largest land mammal in North America. In a typical year, more than 3,000 bison roam the grasslands of Yellowstone National Park. Bulls are more massive in appearance than cows, and more bearded. For their size, bison are agile and quick, capable of speeds in excess of 30 mph. Each year, bison injure park visitors who approach too closely. Most animals in Yellowstone are subject to different management goals when they leave the park. Bison require special attention because many have been exposed to the bacteria that causes brucellosis, a disease that also infects domestic cattle. Yellowstone has worked with the state of Montana and other federal agencies to develop a plan for managing the bison population in a way that protects both its wild and free-roaming characteristics and the health of Montana cattle. At one time, bison spread from the Pacific to the Appalachians—but their main habitat was the Great Plains. Bison roamed there in herds that often numbered three to five million animals. Plains tribes developed a culture that depended on bison. Almost all parts of the bison provided something for their way of life—food, tools, shelter, or clothing. Hunting bison required skill and cooperation to herd and capture the animals. After tribes acquired horses from the Spanish in the 1600s, they could travel farther to find bison and hunt the animals more easily. But European American settlers moving west during the 1800s changed the balance. Market hunting, sport hunting, and a U.S. Army campaign in the late 1800s nearly caused the extinction of the bison. Yellowstone was the only place in the lower 48 states where a population of wild, free- ranging bison persisted. The U.S. Army, which administered Yellowstone at that time, protected these few dozen bison from poaching as best they could. The protection of bison in Yellowstone and their subsequent recovery is one of the great triumphs of the American conservation movement.

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