Bison

Scientific Name: Bison bison

The Great Plains once provided enough grass for huge herds of bison. Bison greatly benefit grasslands by grazing and maintaining the open prairie and eating tree seedlings. The bison also helps fertilize the land, since “buffalo patties” have a high phosphorus and nitrogen content. Don’t worry, if you see a bison lying down or standing with its head drooped, it’s not sick—it is just digesting its food.

Did you know? Places in Oklahoma are still landscaped by past bison herds. As bison “wallowed,” rolling on the ground to groom themselves and get rid of insects, they left deep depressions in the land.