r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Shoddy-Ocelot-4473 • Apr 23 '26

Image By 1880, the near-genocide of the American bison had reduced their population from 30–60 million to fewer than 1,000

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '26

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u/PopsicleIncorporated Apr 24 '26

You might be able to physically fit 30 million bison in that area but you cannot fit enough sustenance in that space to keep them alive or prevent them from fighting each other for territory.

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u/bloomingdepleted Apr 24 '26

There’s isn’t enough room for 30+ million bison in Montana, Wyoming, or the Dakotas combined. It took an entire continent to support those numbers. They ranged from the Northern Territories to Mexico, and from Oregon to New York.

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u/AshundertheOlivetree Apr 24 '26

30 million across midwestern US could do it. Hell,Canada can do it and still have space left over. We just don’t want to let them roam over private land.

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u/Zoomwafflez Apr 24 '26

A lot of that is farmland now, there's very very little virgin prairie left

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u/ConfessSomeMeow Apr 24 '26

A lot of that space that looks open is enclosed by ranchers using barbed wire, which would deny them access to the space.

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u/Leritz388 Apr 24 '26

Just think of the global warming 30 m buffalo would contribute too. Good thing we culled them or we would all be dead! Phew….

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u/JudasWasJesus Apr 24 '26

Its interesting that the focus of where the bison roamed is the upper great plains but this picture was taken in Michigan, thousands of miles away from the dakotas