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American Bison and Pronghorn Antelope
(Bison bison and Antilocapra americana)

The Bison, or American Buffalo, and Pronghorn are associates whose trails frequently cross on the plains and prairies. The Bison surpasses all our game in size and strength while the Pronghorn is the fleetest of the American plains animals.

The Bison was probably one of the most gregarious of all living animals. Its former abundance was incredible and the number has been estimated at 60 to 75 million animals. Herds extended in unbroken masses as far as the eye could see. The decline in numbers, with the development of the West, was so rapid that in 1895 only 800 survived. Today the only truly wild Bison are a remnant of the race known as Wood Bison which live along the Peace River of Canada. All other Bison are park animals or descendants of park animals.

Epidemic diseases were unknown among the Bison. The American Indian and the Gray Wolf were far from being its worst enemies. The greatest losses were in crossing the treacherous river ice during the spring migrations when the vanguard would crash through and thousands were pushed in by the on-surging masses.

Bulls that fight furiously for supremacy during the mating season live peaceably together the rest of the year. The calves, reddish in color, are born in April. Bison, unlike most game, face a blizzard—the thick woolly coat on head and shoulders afford them protection.

The Pronghorn is unique in that it is the only living hollow-horned mammal that sheds the outer horny sheath annually. Furthermore, it is the only antelope in the world with branched horns.

As in the case of the Bison, the recent Pronghorn population is but a fragment of a former abundance. However, these animals have recovered under protective laws and are once more becoming an important part of the big-game census in several of the Western States.

Four of the Bison in this group were secured through the courtesy and cooperation of the United States Department of Agriculture and came from the National Bison Range in Montana. The large bull in the foreground was donated for the group by the Department of Mines and Resources of Canada and was selected in Buffalo Park, Wainwright, Alberta.

Group Environment
Early autumn, between Rawlins and Saratoga, Wyoming

In pioneer days the "Overland Trail" crossed the North Platte River, southeastern Wyoming, about one mile from the present scene. Over distant snow-covered heights of the Medicine Bow Mountains, cottony cumulus clouds are drifting.

The red sedimentary rocks (Mesa Verde formation) contain remains of dinosaurs. The whitish slopes (center) are deposits of volcanic ash. The greenish rocks (left) are intrusives forced into the sediments when below the surface of the earth.

The head of the nearest of the colony of Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) can be seen protruding from its burrow close to the Pronghorns.

Vegetation of the Wyoming plains includes:

1. Buffalo Grass, Buchloe dactyloides, was originally one of the most abundant low grasses of the Buffalo ranges. The grass is peculiar in being dioecious, or having male and female "flowers" on separate plants. On plains and prairies from Minnesota to Wyoming, Arkansas and New Mexico, 4000 to 6000 feet.
2. Grama Grass or Mesquit Grass, Bouteloua oligostachya, with narrow, parallel-sided plumes, is widely distributed on plains and prairies from Wisconsin and Manitoba to Missouri, Arizona and Mexico.
3. Sage Brush, Artemisia tridentata. Old plants of this species become very dense and gnarled. They may grow to a height of two feet. The leaves are bitter and aromatic.
4. Prickly pear, Opuntia polyacantha, is a highly typical cactus of the Buffalo plains country. The flowers are usually yellow, the fruit dry and spiny. Found between 4000 and 7000 feet.
5. The cowbirds (Molothrus ater artemisiae) on the ground to the right, commonly follow buffalo and cattle about. They feed on insects. Their most notable character however lies in their habit of laying their eggs in the nests of other kinds of birds, which perforce become foster parents, hatching the eggs and feeding the young cowbirds.

History of the Bison

Sioux Buffalo Hunt by George Catlin.

The near extinction of the North American plains bison took place during the latter half of the 19th century and culminated in the mass slaughter of millions of animals during the early 1870s. The many tribes of the plains, which included the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, had long hunted the plentiful bison not only for food, but also to make clothing, tools, and shelter. The bison was an integral part of the Plains Indians' lifecycle and was honored as a spiritually important animal.

Many factors contributed to the decline of the bison, but one of the earliest was the introduction of the horse, and later the gun, into Plains Indian cultures. Though many more bison could be killed by mounted and armed hunters, the overall bison population was likely not threatened by Indian's hunting for their own needs. However, the stage was set for more dramatic losses once trading organizations such as the American Fur Company began to purchase bison skins during the 1830s in lieu of the dwindling supply of beaver pelts. More and more bison were soon being killed so that their skins could be traded for firearms, gunpowder, textiles, and other goods.

The wholesale slaughter of bison on the Great Plains peaked in the years following the Civil War. During this time the ecology of the American West was radically changed by a great influx of white settlers. New railroad lines built during the 1860s not only carried large numbers of people to the plains in search of inexpensive land, gold, and adventure, but were also used to ship bison hides back east. Bison hunters, such as William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, earned their living by killing bison for their hides or to feed railroad workers. Many bison were killed purely for sport or for their tongues alone, which were considered a delicacy. Bison hunting was also justified by some as a way to aid the U.S. government's struggle against the Plains Indian tribes by destroying their primary food source. By the turn of the century there was only one wild herd of bison left in America, located in the remote backcountry of Yellowstone National Park.

In 1886 the Smithsonian Institute sent zoologist William T. Hornaday to the West to collect bison for preservation purposes. Hornaday, troubled by the scarcity of bison he saw on his trip, began to gather support upon his return back east for a movement to protect the bison. In 1905 the American Bison Society was formed for this purpose with Hornaday as its president and Theodore Roosevelt as Honorary President.

Due in large part to the groundwork laid by Hornaday, Roosevelt, and others, there are about 300,000 bison in North America today. The American bison is currently listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as a “Lower Risk: Conservation Dependent” animal. However, the plains bison, though making a strong comeback, is still threatened by factors such as disease, genetic hybridization, and shrinking natural environments. In order to ensure the bison will prosper in the future, it is important that conservation efforts continue to protect this great symbol of the American West as well as its environment.