Bison: Monarch of the plains

The North American Bison is a symbol of the American West. As many as 60 million bison may have roamed this continent at one time. The saga of the bison is viewed by many as one of the darkest of our Nations history, Greed, politics, and wanton slaughter decimated this species. By the late 1880's no more than 1,000 remained. Thanks to a few dedicated visionaries, the bison were saved from extinction, Today, herds are expanding and becoming a common sight. 

Bison or Buffalo? You may wonder which is which. In reality, the true name for this impressive creature is the North American Bison; Bison bison. We often refer to bison as buffalo, but this is incorrect. Buffalo only exist in Africa and Asia. The confusion may have originated when early French Voyageurs mistakenly called the Bison Les Boeufs (for beef). This term eventually evolved to become the word Buffalo. Many people still use the term buffalo when they really mean bison.