Does it make you mad that a bunch of jerks in the 1800s killed off all the buffalo, making it nearly impossible for you to ever see a wild herd grazing on the plains? For those who trivialize man's impact on the planet, the buffalo are a good reminder. It only took a couple of generations to drive the gigantic herds of North America to near extinction.Surprisingly, some conservationists say that there's still hope. Researchers at the Wildlife Conservation Society are optimistic that we may get a chance to see wild herds of bison roaming through North America again -- and sooner than you probably think.
Formed at the Bronx Zoo in 1905, the WCS has been trying to repopulate the Great Plains using its bison herd for the past century. After going through a ton of sites with their "conservation scorecard," conservationists think that surprisingly large swaths of the continent are still able to sustain herds of buffalo. Only about 20,000 buffalo are considered wild today, while about 480,000 live on ranches.
While it does give me some pause to consider what would happen when a buffalo herd crosses a major roadway -- i.e. a buffalo vs. Honda collision -- bringing back the buffalo would be a huge victory for conservation. Especially since the buffalo went from a symbol of the untouched natural world of North America, to a symbol of North Americans and their blatant disregard for the environment. The big question for us is not whether we can bring the buffalo back, but have we really changed our mindset enough?
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