Bison in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA
© Brian Evans/Getty Image
In praise of bisons
The first Saturday of November is a day to recognise bisons in the United States, where the great beasts were once plentiful. Tens of millions strong in the 1800s, they roamed in great herds, helping to diversify and maintain the prairie habitat. They also played important roles in Native American culture. Indigenous peoples have used the bison for food, utensils and clothing and pay tribute to the animals in religious rituals.
But as settlers arrived in the American West, the bison’s habitat started to disappear and that, combined with overhunting, nearly wiped out the species altogether. Ranchers, conservationists and politicians teamed up to try to save them. In 1913, 14 bison from the Bronx Zoo were shipped to a wildlife refuge to revive the population. Today more than 20,000 bison roam on public lands in the United States.
Related Images
The Llangattock Escarpment in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Powys, Wales
Prairie and pinnacles near Castle Trail in Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA
Hope Valley in the Peak District
Chital deer in misty grassland at dawn, Kanha National Park, India
Lake Dobson in Mount Field National Park of Tasmania, Australia
Winnats Pass in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park in autumn, Scotland
An old farm in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
Bing Today Images
