DANCING NEBULA

DANCING NEBULA
When the gods dance...

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Near-Extinction Of American Bison In The 1800's

The Near-Extinction Of American Bison In The 1800’s

Slaughter of American Bison Photograph

As the populations of the United States pushed West in the early 1800’s, a lucrative trade for the fur, skin, and meat of the American Bison began in the great plains. Bison slaughter was further encouraged by the US government as a means of starving out or removing Native American populations that relied on the bison for food. Hunting of bison became so prevalent that travelers on trains in the Midwest would shoot bison during long-haul train trips.

Once numbering in the hundreds of millions in North America, the population of the American Bison decreased to less than 1000 by 1890. Thanks in large part to conservation efforts undertaken by Theodore Roosevelt and by the US government, there are now over 500,000 bison in America.

Bison Skulls In Front Of Train Picture

Piles of American Buffalo Skulls Photo

Humans are far more interested in money and instant gratification than they are in being benevolent caretakers of the Earth...and the future they create for their descendents.

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