Well, the skies still might not be cloudy all day, but the view has certainly changed. For the better? That's debatable. Trees for fences, mountains for water towers, the buffalo (and man) no longer ranges on that wide open plane. The march of progress is unrelenting, but progress towards what? Away from what? So that I we can be fenced in on all sides by a sea of humanity and our noses in a pile of poop? Watch your step fellow cowpokes, watch your step... ----- American Bison A bovine mammal that is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America, and one of the largest wild cattles in the world. With their huge bulk, wood bison, which are the largest subspecies in North America, are only surpassed in size by the massive Asian gaur and wild water buffalo, both of which are found mainly in India. The bison inhabited the Great Plains of the United States and Canada in massive herds, ranging from the Great Slave Lake in Canada's far north to Mexico in the south, and from eastern Oregon almost to the Atlantic Ocean, taking its subspecies into account. Its two subspecies are the Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), distinguished by its flat back, and the Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae), distinguished by its large humped back. The Bison is also commonly known as the American Buffalo, although it is only distantly related to either the Water Buffalo or African Buffalo. Bison were hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century and were reduced to a few hundred individuals by the mid-1880s, from which all the present day's managed herds are descended. One major cause was that hunters were paid by large railroad concerns to destroy entire herds. As few as 750 bison existed in 1890. The Bronx Zoo maintained a captive herd, some of which was transported in the early 20th century to Yellowstone National Park to bolster its faltering indigenous herd (which poaching had reduced to a few dozen animals), joining with transplants from other wildlife preserves. Some of these came from Charles Goodnight's ranch in the Texas Panhandle. A variety of privately-owned herds have also been established, starting from this population. The current American Bison population has been growing rapidly and is estimated at 350,000, but this is compared to an estimated 60