Texas Fauna Project

American Bison

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There is no doubt that Western hunters supplying the hide and robe trade and U.S. military strategy against Plains Indians contributed greatly to the near-extinction of the buffalo in the 1870s. However, here, Andy Wilkinson points out a different line of thinking from Dan Flores and others that believes that there were more reasons behind the buffalo's decline. For instance, the boom/bust cycle of bison populations, the volatility of the Great Plains climate, and the Comanches' expanding numbers, hunting prowess, access to the horse, and new use of metal arrowheads may have also been important factors in the bison's near-demise.