Wow Photo Wednesday - The North American Bison, Our National Mammal

Last week, Congress passed a bill (H.R. 2908) designating the North American bison (aka "buffalo") as the United States' National Mammal, and we'd like to honor that decision with this picture of the City of Denver's own bison herd. 

The herd is part of the Denver's Mountain Parks and has been managed by Denver's Parks and Recreation Department since the city first purchased a herd of Yellowstone bison in 1914. Back then, the herd included a number of elk, but these days, it's just bison (about 60 at any given time). 

Denver's bison herd rotates out between two Mountain Park locations (Genesee and Daniels Park), and while they don't enjoy the freedom their cousins in Yellowstone enjoy, they are nurtured, coddled and generally loved by both the Mountain Parks staff and the thousands of visitors who pass by them on a daily basis. 

We're quite pleased with the North American bison's designation as our national mammal, but are even more thrilled that bison are still with us at all. After all, it's believed that at one point, wanton slaughter of the North American bison reduced its numbers from the tens of millions, down to just a few hundred. 

If you want to see more bison photos, check out our North American bison photo gallery. If you're interested in owning one of these photos yourself, take a look at our Photo Sales Page.