Bison

National Bison Day will be celebrated on the 1st Saturday of November. 

Bison Basics

How Bison Affect Their Ecosystems

Bison graze the grasses at different heights, providing nesting grounds for birds. They also roll around and pack down the soil in depressions in the ground known as wallows. Their wallows fill with rainwater and offer breeding pools for amphibians and sources of drinking water for wildlife across the landscape.

Predators & Opportunists

Wolves and grizzly bears are the only large predators of adult bison. Dead bison provide an important source of food for scavengers and other carnivores. Bison will rub against trees, rocks, or in dirt wallows in an attempt to get rid of insect pests. Birds such as the magpie perch on a bison to feed on insects in its coat. The cowbird will also follow close behind a bison, feeding on insects disturbed by its steps.

Bison & Wallow Water Networks

Rain only comes in bursts in the Northern Great Plains, forming vast networks of wetlands in some regions. Pools formed by bison activity collects water above ground for longer periods of time, more broadly across the landscape. Without these wallows, water would only be found in naturally occurring streams and ponds.

Bison & Plants

Wallows help plants, too, by providing a specialized habitat. Several medicinal and rare plants—and plains animal habitats—rely on these depressions.

Bison & Birds

Birds such as long-billed curlew use bison droppings as camouflage. They build nests nearby in patterns that mimick bison droppings. Birds also use bison fur to line their nests. The dense fur provides much-needed warmth and fosters greater nesting success.

Bison & Prairie Dogs

Prairie dogs prefer to nest in areas that bison heavily graze. Short grasses provide ideal areas to dig burrows, and serve as a source of food.

Bison Highways

The bison’s massive heads and shoulders allow them to plow through deep snow, making highways for animals such as pronghorn antelope and elk in the winter months. Their foraging activities in snow also make it possible for other animals to reach grasses that would otherwise be unattainable.

Bison vs Fire

Fire is a natural and healthy phenomenon in prairie ecosystems. Bison grazing limits the loss of nitrogen through fire by reducing the amount of plant litter. Through grazing in patches, the bison helps produce patchiness in fire.

Eurasia

Caucasian Bison

Also known as Wisent are the smaller of the bison species. They like to live in forests mostly, but graze grass and forage from trees. Today most European bison descend from one Caucasian male who was kept in a zoo when their population collapsed, and bred with Białowieża females to revive them. Today many of the wild herds in Poland and Germany are mixed with American Plains bison, but not included in the Bison registry. - Białowieski Park Narodowy

Lowland Bison

Also called the Białowieża bison or Bison bonasus bonasus. Białowieża is a Polish word, pronounced Biawovizha with the ż expressed (hard) like the s in "pleasure". 

North America

There were around 50-60 million bison in the 1500s, and their numbers fell to 325 in 1884. Now, "Approximately 30,000 bison live in public and private herds in North America; they are managed for conservation goals. Approximately 400,000 bison are raised as livestock however, wild bison are rare." - NPS 

Bison is thought to be an eco-friendly meat, but since most animals are finished on feedlots with grain, just like cattle, there is little to no difference for consumers or the environment.

Plains Bison

Most people know about Plains Bison, which are primarily grazing animals. A study found that reintroducing bison to grasslands helps boost biodiversity and drought resistance to the ecosystem.

Forest Bison

Recently Forest Bison were discovered in Canada, and some breeding animals were shipped to Alaska to help reintroduce them to their old range. These are larger than Plains Bison, and prefer to roam through forests.

Eurasian Bison: Wisent

The Return of the Bison: Europe's Largest Wild Animal 

9:24 minute video detailing the known history of the European Bison (or Wisent), how it was saved from near extinction, and some of the more recent reintroduction successes. The people working on the project explain their hopes for the near future of this animal, and mention that due to the Russian war against Ukraine, we don't currently know how well the wild bison around Chernobyl are doing at the moment.

Plains Bison

Why the US Army Tried to Exterminate the Bison

8:15 minute video about the plains bison massacre and the beginning of their conservation.

Return of the American Bison

14:16 video talks a little about the industrial uses of bison that helped spell it's near extinction, and some of the specific steps taken to help boost the genetic diversity and purity of the 8 herds currently supplying genetic diversity for rewilding projects.

"The Buffalo People"

14:16 minute video about the slaughter of Yellow Stone Bison who wandered outside of the park, and legal struggles for native Americans to bring bison back to their land, to help protect them from needless slaughter.

Wood Bison

Program Reintroduces Previously-Believed Extinct Wood Bison into the U.S.

Wood bison were recently found in a remote forest area in Canada, and the  5:52 minute video beneath talks about their reintroduction to an Alaskan conservation park.

Calls to Action

Level 3 Activism

Levels 3-4 Activism

At last check there was a major bottle neck causing bison from Yellowstone to be culled instead of sent to tribal lands, despite them already being cleared of disease. If this problem still persists then people contacting US leaders should pressure them to help resolve this issue so that tribes can receive healthy bison more easily.

Rewilding Plans & Strategies

Area that can be restored to intact assemblage after their reintroduction (km2):

American bison: 1 306 979 

European bison: 482 477 

Number of ecoregions in which reintroduction of the species in at least one grid cell restores an intact mammal assemblage:

American bison: 32 

European bison: 6 

Number of large habitat blocks (> 10 000 km2) available and number of ecoregions in which they occur (in parentheses):

American bison: 14 (12) 

European bison: 2 (2) 

Europe

Considerations for Reintroduction: Location Choices

One size does not fit all: European bison habitat selection across herds and spatial scales "Around 65% of European bison occurrences were in forests, with cows showing a slightly higher forest association than bulls. Forest association did not change markedly across spatial scales, yet differed strongly among herds. Modelling European bison habitat suitability confirmed forest preference, but also showed strong differences in habitat selection among herds. Some herds used open areas heavily and actively selected for them. Similarly, human-pressure variables were important in all herds, but some herds avoided human-dominated areas more than others.

Assessing European bison habitat across multiple herds revealed a more generalist habitat use pattern than when studying individual herds only. Our results highlight that conflicts with land use and people could be substantial if bison are released in human-dominated landscapes. Future restoration efforts should target areas with low road and human population density, regardless of the degree of forest cover. More broadly, our study highlights the importance of considering multiple subpopulations and spatial scales in conservation planning."

Poland

North America

"Since 2019, 182 bison have gone to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Of those, 82 animals were transferred to the InterTribal Buffalo Council who distributed them to 18 Tribes in 10 states."

"This transfer is the result of many partners working together: Yellowstone National Park, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, APHIS, Montana Department of Livestock (DOL), the State of Montana, InterTribal Buffalo Council, Yellowstone Forever, Defenders of Wildlife and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition."

"Quarantine was identified as a possible tactic for bison management back in 2001 when the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) was signed by the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture and the Governor of Montana. The National Park Service formally pursued a quarantine program in 2014 by initiating a public planning process. The operational quarantine program was approved in May 2018.

APHIS and DOL established the final structural specifications and biosecurity requirements for quarantine facilities in June 2017. The only facilities that currently meet those specifications are located at Stephens Creek in Yellowstone National Park, Corwin Springs in Montana, and the Fort Peck Reservation.

APHIS developed the quarantine protocols in October 2003 and validated them during 2005-2010. Quarantine has three phases:

"Tribes manage at least 55 herds across 19 states, said Troy Heinert, executive director of the InterTribal Buffalo Council."

Canada

Organizations

International

Asia

Azerbaijan 

Europe 

Belarus

Poland


Russia

UK

North America

Canada

One of the biggest factors limiting further recovery of bison is the loss of grasslands across the west grasslands are now one of Canada most endangered habitats."

"Our goal is to continue to reintroduce bison to wild areas, and to work with First Nations to restore the central cultural role that bison have played for centuries for Indigenous people."

Mexico

USA

Alaska

Montana

South Dakota


Texas

North America

Tools & Resources

Apps

Agreements & Protections

Grants & Funding

International

North America

USA

Ecosystem Connections

All bison have a protruding shoulder hump. Large shoulder and neck muscles allow bison to swing their heads from side-to-side to clear snow from foraging patches, unlike other ungulates that scrape snow away with their front feet. Bison are agile, strong swimmers, and can run 35 miles per hour (55 kph). They can jump over objects about 5 feet (1.5 m) high and have excellent hearing, vision, and sense of smell.

Diet

Yellowstone bison feed primarily on grasses, sedges, and other grass-like plants (more than 90% of their diets) in open grassland and meadow communities throughout the year. 

They also eat forbs (weeds and herbaceous, broad-leafed plants) and browse (the leaves, stems, and twigs of woody plants) through the year, but those usually comprise less than 5% of the diet.

Cattle vs Bison

Biodiversity

Bison

In addition, bison grazing increases animal diversity. Herds of grazing bison shape grasslands and create habitat. Prairie Dog foraging capabilities are enhanced. In turn, these Prairie Dogs are prey for ferrets, foxes, hawks, and eagles.  Prairie Dog tunnels are homes for the Burrowing Owl, small mammals, and reptiles.

Cattle

Cattle ranchers routinely remove plant species that might poison cattle, including milkweed which can be dangerous if eaten in high enough quantities. They also kill off prairie dogs out of fears that cattle will break their legs if they step in a hole. In countries like the USA, ranchers and the UDSA shoot or leave traps for animals like coyotes, though the traps often take out other animals including species who are endangered.

Carbon Capture

Bison

Dynamic spatial and seasonal bison grazing with the ongoing presence of forbs enhances density and plant cover above ground as well as gas exchange below ground. With parts of the prairie grazed, photosynthesis rates are enhanced because more light is made available.

Cattle

According to this page about carbon sequestration, it doesn't appear to be possibly for cattle ranchers to sequester anywhere near as much carbon as unaltered ecosystems would be able to store, especially when compared to the massive emissions created by the beef industry vs any other food we've found for comparison.

Forests & Deforestation

Bison

Bison have lived among trees and forests since before humans started interfering and destroying forests for easier hunting or grazing livestock. Despite their name Wood bison (and their European cousins the Caucasian Bison) who are commonly associated with forests tend to graze on plants such as grasses, and use meadows for birthing, shelter, mating and other purposes. The move in and out of different habitats taking seeds with them, which boosts biodiversity in the biomes, including forests.

"Bison affect habitats directly by grazing, trampling, defecating, urinating, making trails, wallowing, horning and rubbing on trees and other objects."

In a 2 year study of a herd over 300 large found that, "Bison injury to trees was minimal, although one willow (Salix nigra) was uprooted and killed during the study, and several other trees were seriously damaged. Bison horning had the greatest effect on saplings and shrubs, killing or severely damaging 4% of the woody plants documented within the study area and causing moderate injury to 13% and light injury to 12%. Bison showed a strong preference for small willows, killing or severely damaging 17% of the saplings and shrubs of this species during the study. Bison also used artificial, man-made objects present on the landscape such as utility poles and fenceposts. Results suggest that horning and rubbing by bison, along with fire and drought, may have influenced the historical distribution of woody vegetation in prairie environments. "

In Spain, reintroduced bison have helped open the underbrush to allow more light and grass species, eating damaged saplings, but leaving the healthier ones alone to flourish. Their work is expected to help reduce the increase of raging fires that have swept Spain as climate change and land use changes in the Spanish countryside.

Wallowing can create prime growing spots for young trees as the depressions tend to hold water long enough for it to sink in around roots, even in hotter, drier terrain.

Cattl

Cattle ranching is the #1 global driver of deforestation, and is responsible for 5 times more deforestation than any other industry. The second largest driver is soy, which is mostly fed to livestock, particularly Chickens, Aquaculture farms, Pigs, and Cattle.

Grassfed cattle are worse for forests (and the environment in general) than factory farmed or lot fed, since they require much more room to feed, particularly in places like South America where the rainforest's poor soil quickly runs out of nutrients, meaning cattle in the Amazon have among the world's lowest stocking densities. Then as nutrients run out, farmers cut and burn deeper into the forest for more grazing space, which downgrades to soy plantations till the soil is spent. Farmers essentially spreading desertification as they go.

Even worse is that even if farmers try to grow trees to reduce their impact, and protect their cattle from the elements, cattle have a habit of browsing on young trees, meaning fences are required for any new plantings. Cattle also kill adult trees by rubbing against them and damaging their bark or limbs. When a herd of cattle routinely shade themselves under a large tree, their feces and urine can build up in the soil, which is why so few livestock fields have trees, or often have dead trees.

Click the button below to learn more about Livestock and their effect on deforestation.