American Keystone
The North American Bison has caught my attention. In fact, it’s got its hooks in me. Did you know that, historically, bison were North America’s most prominent native herbivore and that they are our largest land mammal? Did you know that cattle are not native to the US and Canada?
Bison were nearly eradicated from North America due to over hunting and an attempt made by the US government to make life difficult for the Native American by killing them all. At one point, they were being shot from trains simply left to rot without even the hides being used!
In regards to their place of origin, animals are categorized as native, non-native, and invasive. Bison are native to North America. There are two species here: plains and wood bison. Cattle are non-native, meaning they were imported from elsewhere (Europe). Interestingly, people increasingly refer to cattle as invasive, rather than just non-native. Google it. The distinction is made when a species is deemed harmful to its environment and the plant and animal life around it.
Cattle are as domestic and docile as they come and they also produce a lot of food for people. What’s the deal?
Cattle don’t seem to know the environment like bison do. They didn’t grow up here. Despite their docile nature, cattle are running around, metaphorically speaking, kind of like a bull in a China shop. They are just doing whatever, while bison are more specialized for their environment.
Bison trend towards being more sustainable for the US.
They seem to be more selective eaters. They like native prairie grasses and they tend to not prefer broad leafed plants and flowers. That’s good for American prairies, which are threatened. They eat the grasses which then creates more room, nutrients, and water for prairie flowers to grow and lets bees and birds do their thing to pollinate them (and grow in number). Cattle seem to trend towards forbs (broad leafed plants) over grasses.
Bison wallow as well; meaning they lay down and roll around in the same spots over and over again. This creates depressions in the ground where water collects and can turn dry fields into wetlands (this is why beavers are important as well). They’re making it nice. Again: important for American prairies-especially out west.
The slightly sharper shape of bison hooves “tills” the soil where seeds can then propagate, in comparison to cattle hooves that mash the ground and leave a hard, flat crust which is is difficult for seeds to get through.
Bison have a demeanor that is less favorable for farming and confining them to a feedlot, for example. For that reason, they more often graze on large pastures than their cattle counterparts. Many of these things can have to do with that, including the fact that they seem to produce less methane gas. I’ve mentioned before that I study evolution via Anthropology at CU. From an evolutionary standpoint, this stuff all makes sense: an animal adapts to its living space over time. A common story you will hear is that where there are bison, the prairie has made a comeback. Whatever the reason, I’m for it.