#bison

#bison

Bison Become Archaeologists, Discover Ancient PetroglyphsIn the late 19th century, bison were driven nearly to extinction, and there were none at all left in the area of the Wahpeton Dakota Nation in Saskatchewan. The First Nations elders, who had also been driven off their land, lamented the loss of the bison, and prophesied that they would return and bring good things for their people. In 2019, bison did return when they were introduced to Wanuskewin Heritage Park. The bison went about altering the landscape, as they do, and about eight months later, made their first archaeological discovery. Not on purpose, of course, but the animals had removed the vegetation from an area near an old buffalo jump to use it as a dust wallow. Their hooves had beaten back some of the soil, and unearthed the first petroglyphs found in Wanuskewin. Four of them, plus a stone tool that was used to carve the rocks. The marks on the rocks are dated between 300 and 1800 years old, and estimated to be around 1000 years old.

The World's Slowest StampedeA couple of tourists were stuck in their rental car when around 150 bison commandeer the road at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park last month. The woman is afraid of them, hoping they don't attack or damage the car. But she needn't worry.

Bison Return to the Carpathian MountainsYou might not have known that there are two species of bison, the American bison, the symbol of the Old West, and the European bison, which was nearly wiped out by hunting and habitat encroachment. Efforts to bring back wild European bison began in the 1950s around the Poland-Belarus border. The forests of Romania, where bison hadn't been seen in 200 years, are the latest new home of reintroduced bison. The first bison were released in Romania in 2014, brought from zoos and breeding facilities. These bison, born in captivity with names like Kiwi and Mildred, have settled into the wilderness of the Carpathian mountains and produced 38 calves. The herd now stands at 105, covering only 8,000 hectares of the 59,000-hectare protected area. Like other reintroduction programs, the bison are expected to have a positive impact on the environment, by spreading seeds, eating invasive plants, and keeping wolves and bears fed and away from human settlements. Scientists have discovered other surprising benefits of wild bison, which you can read about at Phys Org. -via Fark (Image credit: Michael Gäbler) #bison #Europeanbison #Romania #rewilding