Sustainability

Ecosystems

Steppe

The bison

Even if the American bison, also called buffalo, and the European bison have always been hunted by man, the introduction of thorses and firearms have caused their number to dramatically decrease, seriously endangering the survival of this species. When in Europe the number of heads dropped to six, they began to be protected and their number restarted to grow, putting one herd back together. Today, approximately 2,000 European bison remain, all coming from that original group of six. In America, their natural habitat has been damaged since the seventeenth century by the coming of European people. Buffaloes in particular were hunted by European planters: the legendary Buffalo Bill killed 4,000 in one year. This animal had almost disappeared when reserves and sanctuaries were established to protect the few surviving heads. The operation was successful: 40 thousand heads are now there for everyone to see.