Displaying items by tag: Bison

When early European settlers first laid eyes on the massive, shaggy creatures roaming the plains of North America, they dubbed them buffalo — a name that stuck, even though these animals weren’t true buffalo at all. Technically, they’re bison — American bison, to be precise. But try telling that to the folks who named Buffalo, New York. Or the ones who minted the Buffalo nickel. Or me, when I still forget and call them buffalo out of habit.

The American bison has become a symbol of resilience, strength, and the wild spirit of the frontier. They were once hunted to near extinction, but conservation efforts brought them back from the brink. Today, they stand as one of the great icons of North America — a reminder of the untamed wild and the sheer muscle that once shook the prairie.