Tatanka the Bison

Travel to find good grazing lands and maybe other bison

Tatanka the Buffalo

Tatanka is part of a small herd in Wyoming.  The herd has noticed that there are not as many of them around as there were 300 years ago. (Don’t tell him what actually happened to them.)

Tatanka, and several of his herd mates, have decided to head out in different directions, explore and try to find some of their relatives. 

Tatanka’s goal is to travel to Washington, Oregon and California and other places, looking for other bison. 

He may try to go to Yosemite National Park, confusing it with another park — Yellowstone.

Pictures of places with other buffalo, or even good grazing areas, are appreciated. 

After traveling to those three states, it would be nice for Tatanka to return to Wyoming. 

Bison were once abundant in the American landscape. Their natural range extended from Canada to Mexico and from New York to Oregon. Scientists and historians estimate that there were at least 30 million (some estimates as high as 60 million) bison roaming the country before Euro-American settlement of the West.

Plummeting from a previous population of 30-60 million, there were an estimated 325 wild bison left in the country by 1884. Luckily, a few conservationists had the foresight to protect the last of this species, and their efforts in the late 19th century are the reason why about 20,000 bison now roam public lands.

Yellowstone National Park has the largest population , over 5,000.

Wyoming State Flag

Tatanka  (Lakota-Sioux)