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The bison coexisted with elk, deer, pronghorn, swift fox, black-footed ferrets, black-tailed prairie dogs, white-tailed jackrabbits, bears, wolves, coyotes, and cougars. [8] [9] The bison scoring the trees with their horns kept them from taking over the open grasslands. As bison grazed, they dispersed seeds by excreting them. [7]
The grasslands of the western plains were the core of the great bison belt. The grasslands consisted primarily of blue grama ( Bouteloua gracilis ) and buffalo grass ( Bouteloua dactyloides ). These grasses have deep and dense root structure and retain large amounts of water, making them well suited to survive dramatic environmental fluctuations.
The majority of American bison in the world are raised for human consumption or fur clothing. Bison meat is generally considered to taste very similar to beef, but is lower in fat and cholesterol, yet higher in protein than beef, [120] which has led to the development of beefalo, a fertile hybrid of bison and domestic cattle. [121]
The vegetation of Konza Prairie is dominated by native tallgrass which can reach over 2.5 metres in height in the most productive years. The prairie is dominated by plants adapted to the continental climate, mainly perennial grasses such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum).
Plains bison have since been reintroduced into a number of locations in North America. Five main foundation herds of American bison supplied animals intended to save them from extinction. [9] The northernmost introduction occurred in 1928 when the Alaska Game Commission brought bison to the area of present-day Delta Junction.
Once home to free-roaming herds of bison and leaping pronghorn, the Great Plains is now a shadow of its former self, embodying the story of disappearing wilderness in North American grasslands.
The new Janos Biopsphere Reserve bison herd adds to other Mexican bison that have ranged between Chihuahua, Mexico, and New Mexico, United States, since at least the 1920s. This older population is known as the Janos-Hidalgo bison herd, and its persistence for nearly 100 years confirms that habitat for bison is suitable in northern Mexico.
Flowering big bluestem, a characteristic tallgrass prairie plant. The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America.Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachment of trees, recycling soil nutrients, and facilitating seed dispersal and germination.