PAT THOMAS: We’re looking at a mature American bison who looks as if he’s on high alert from something that’s got his attention.

I’m Dr. Pat Thomas, retired vice president and general curator for the Wildlife Conservation Society and the associate director of the Bronx Zoo. 

His head is raised. His tail is standing up. It looks like he’s trying to investigate what he smells or hears, and that will elicit either a fight or flight response.

NARRATOR: In the late 19th century, bison had reason to feel threatened due to hunting sanctioned by the U.S. government.

PAT THOMAS: The American bison is a species that once numbered between 30 and 50 million animals, and within a hundred years’ time was driven to the very brink of extinction. Proctor may have chosen, this pose because at that point in time, any scent of human activity would have put any bison to immediate flight because they had been so heavily persecuted by humans. 

Today there are approximately a half million American bison alive but the vast majority of them are on ranches, and only 50,000 or so are free ranging.

NARRATOR: About 15 years ago, the Bronx Zoo began working on the idea of breeding bison for restoration programs.

PAT THOMAS: Beginning in 2021, we partnered with the Osage Nation in Oklahoma who were interested in reestablishing a bison herd on their historic lands. In 2022, we sent the first group of bison from the Bronx Zoo to the Osage Nation, and then in 2024 we sent them a second group and we will continue to work with them as long as they want and we’ll also start looking for other Native American partners that are interested in having bison on their historic lands.