American bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
American bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (© Gary Gray/Getty Images)
National Bison Day
While temperatures continue to drop as we approach winter, the American bison couldn't care less. It's National Bison Day, and these burly mammals are ready for snow with their shaggy coats and massive bodies that can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. The largest and oldest bison herds in the country have resided here in Yellowstone National Park since prehistoric times, a site that is no stranger to frigid temperatures.
Wildlife conservationists, Native American tribes, and ranchers promoted a 'Vote Bison' campaign to establish National Bison Day as a federally recognized holiday. President Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act into law in 2016, establishing the American bison as the national mammal of the United States. The US has come a long way in the celebration and preservation of this grand animal, after they were saved from almost certain extinction by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905.
© Gary Gray/Getty Images