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The Ecological Buffalo by Wes Olson

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The Ecological Buffalo

On the Trail of a Keystone Species

Wes Olson, Johane Janelle, Harvey Locke

University of Regina Press · Print & ebook · July 9, 2022

Reading lane: Plains & Prairie Life

An expert on the buffalo tells the history of this keystone species through extensive research and beautiful photographs.

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At a Glance

Who It's For

Themes: Food, Nature, Photography.Reading lane: Plains & Prairie Life and Mammal Biology.Publisher: University of Regina Press.

Book Details

Authors
Wes Olson, Johane Janelle, Harvey Locke
Publisher
University of Regina Press
Published
July 9, 2022
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Plains & Prairie Life · Mammal Biology
Reading lane
Plains & Prairie Life

Affinity

Publisher Categories

  • North American History

  • Nature

  • Plains & Prairie Life

  • Plants & Animals Photography

About This Book

An expert on the buffalo tells the history of this keystone species through extensive research and beautiful photographs. The mere mention of the buffalo instantly brings to mind the vast herds that once roamed the North American continent, and few wild animals captivate our imaginations as much as the buffalo do. Once numbering in the tens of millions, these magnificent creatures played a significant role in structuring the varied ecosystems they occupied. For at least 24,0...

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An expert on the buffalo tells the history of this keystone species through extensive research and beautiful photographs. The mere mention of the buffalo instantly brings to mind the vast herds that once roamed the North American continent, and few wild animals captivate our imaginations as much as the buffalo do. Once numbering in the tens of millions, these magnificent creatures played a significant role in structuring the varied ecosystems they occupied. For at least 24,000 years, North American Indigenous Peoples depended upon them, and it was the abundance of buffalo that initially facilitated the dispersal of humankind across the continent. With the arrival of Europeans and their rapacious capacity for wildlife destruction, the buffalo was all but exterminated. In a span of just thirty years during the mid-1800s, buffalo populations plummeted from more than 30 million to just twenty-three. And with them went all of the intricate food webs, the trophic cascades, and the inter-species relationships that had evolved over thousands of years. Despite this brush with extinction, the buffalo survived, and isolated populations are slowly recovering. As this recovery proceeds, the relationships the animals once had with thousands of species are being re-established in a remarkable process of ecological healing. The intricacy of those restored relationships is the subject of this book. Based on author Wes Olson’s thirty-five years of working intimately with bison—and featuring 180 stunning, full-colour photographs by Johane Janelle— The Ecological Buffalo is a story that takes the reader on a journey to understand the myriad connections this keystone species has with the Great Plains.

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