Modern Bison

[Bigjay73]

If bison had not been hunted by settlers and fur traders, what would their numbers look like today? Would cattle ranching and fencing have taken the same toll?

 

[geetar]

I have no idea but I wish we had recognized the resource they are a little earlier.

 

[fowladdict]

I don't know, but how cool would it be to use a Henry or Ballard rifle on a buffalo hunt?

 

[Nick_CO]

I would imagine their numbers would still be fairly low and their distribution would look similar to today's elk herds, existing mostly in mountainous terrain where it's either protected by law or harder for civiliation to completely take over. I once read that a subspecies of mountain bison existed that were smaller than plains bison. Those seem like they would have faired better today if they hadn't been killed off as well. The story about the last 3 mountain bison (a bull, a cow, and calf) being killed in South Park by some taxidermists back in the early 1900's is pretty sad.

 

[CowboyLeroy]

What would our interstate highway system look like

 

[Forkyfinder]

The saddest places for this - the great plains mostly- would have ended up the same way from ag development.