The bison will soon join the bald eagle as America’s national animal—and its only mammal, says The Guardian. Congress has passed the National Bison Legacy Act, which names the wooly, 2,000 pound species a “historical symbol of the United States.”
“As many as 30 million bison once roamed as far east as New York, but by the dawn of the 20th century, little more than 1,000 remained in remote pockets of habitat,” says The Guardian. Settlers and railroad companies slaughtered the vast herds, killing not only a species, but damaging the prairie ecology and Native American cultures that depended on it. Today 30,000 wild buffalo roam across the United States, thanks to conservation efforts, with another 400,000 raised as commercial livestock.
Even though the designation doesn’t offer any special protections, conservationists hope it will bring new attention to the animal. Cristian Samper, president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, calls the National Bison Legacy Act a “milestone” toward “prevent[ing] the bison from going extinct and to recognize the bison’s ecological, cultural, historical and economic importance to the United States.”
The Senate still needs to vote on the Act and President Obama needs to sign it into law, but the bill has bipartisan support and is not expected to meet with strong opposition.