American bison

The American bison is a large bovine native to North America, comprising the plains bison and wood bison. Its herds once shaped grassland ecosystems and Indigenous lifeways.

Plains bison: A subspecies of American bison historically widespread across the Great Plains. This is the more numerous subspecies and the one most associated with vast prairie herds.
Bison grazing ecology: The effects of bison feeding on grasses, plant communities, and nutrient cycling. Selective grazing helps maintain prairie diversity and creates varied vegetation patches.
Bison antiquus: An extinct North American bison species that lived during the Pleistocene and was larger than modern bison. This close relative helps reconstruct the bison lineage before the modern species emerged.
Bison conservation: Efforts to protect bison populations, genetic diversity, and habitat across North America. Conservation addresses the species' recovery after near-extirpation and ongoing habitat pressures.
Bison hunting: The pursuit and killing of bison for food, materials, or population control. Indigenous hunting sustained communities for millennia; later commercial slaughter helped drive the collapse.
Wood bison: A subspecies of American bison native to boreal forests and northern grasslands. Its northern range and larger build distinguish it from plains bison.
Bison wallow: A shallow depression formed when bison roll repeatedly in soil or dust. Wallowing alters prairie soils and can create habitat for distinct plant communities.
Bison occidentalis: An extinct North American bison species that lived during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Its fossils document changes in bison size and form near the end of the Ice Age.
Yellowstone bison: The wild bison population living in and around Yellowstone National Park. This herd is among the largest and most genetically significant public bison populations.
Bison hide trade: The commercial trade in bison hides, which expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century. Hide markets encouraged mass killing during the period when bison populations crashed.

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