By the latter part of the 19th century, American bison (or buffalo, as they were erroneously referred to then) had been reduced from herds of tens of millions that blackened the plains to at most a few hundred individual animals scattered over the most remote parts of the West.
In 1882, William T. Hornaday was appointed chief taxidermist at the Smithsonian Institution and soon realized that the National Museum didn’t have any good specimens of this American icon. Six years later, he set off to hunt some of the very last bison to create a display before they vanished forever. Yet far from hastening its extinction, Hornaday became integral to saving the species.
For his 2017 documentary for the Smithsonian Channel, wildlife filmmaker Steve Nicholls travelled extensively through the American West to discover how such an abundant creature could stand on the brink of extinction and how a few influential people helped save it. But the fight to reinstate bison to their rightful place on the plains is far from over. Centering on figures like Hornaday, Nicholls explores both the history and future of the American bison.
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