The Title of National Mammal of the United States Goes to…
“...Catalina Island is one of the few remaining areas in North America with wild bison — & the majestic animal is now the first official mammal of the United States.
After a decade of lobbying from a coalition of groups...Congress unanimously passed The National Bison Legacy Act...
The largest mammal in the United States, the bison is native to North America & dates back to the Ice Age...For Native American tribes, bison were integral to survival. Reaching a size of more than 2,000 pounds... The animal became an inevitable part of Native American cultural identity...
In 1905 a group of private citizens...founded the American Bison Society. The society’s president...donated 14 bison to the Wichita National Preserve to establish & increase government herds.
...They also established a National Bison Range for a permanent herd of wild bison. By the time the American Bison Society disbanded in 1935, 20,000 bison had been restored to public lands.
A symbol of strength, survival, determination, & resilience makes the bison the perfect mammal to represent America...
The American Bison Society was reestablished in 2006 to launch conservation efforts & increase the bison population...
Today, an estimated 500,000 bison live in North America...
The passage of the National Bison Legacy Act is an important step for ecological restoration in North America...
... With an average size of 200 bison, the Catalina herd is much smaller than its peak of more than 600 in the late 1980s...
While there is still a long way to go, thanks to the efforts of American Bison Society, the Intertribal Buffalo Council, the WWF, & hundreds of others, this American icon will no doubt be as resilient as the nation it now represents.”
Crystal Shepeard
May 3/2016
care2.com
Cute Critter Pic
Weekly Chuckle
No comments:
Post a Comment