The Ecological Buffalo: On the Trail of a Keystone Species

Olson, Wes

ISBN 10: 088977871X / ISBN 13: 9780889778719

Edité par University of Regina Press, 2022

A propos de cet article

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Ecological Buffalo: On the Trail of a Keystone Species
• Éditeur: University of Regina Press
• Date de parution: 2022
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 088977871X
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780889778719
• Reliure: Paperback
• État de l'article: New

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

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 Johane Janelle’s stunning photography—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.

À propos des auteurs

Wes Olson was raised in the foothills of western Alberta, and it was there that he developed a passion for wild places and wild species. Following a thrity-two-year career as a Canadian National Park warden, Wes lives an 80 acre patch of forest and beaver ponds beside Elk Island National Park in central Alberta. He is the author of A Field Guide to Plains Bison and Portraits of the Bison.

Johane Janelle's photography has been featured on many magazine covers, such as Horse-Sport, Horse-Canada, Horse & Country, and Western Horse Review, as well as A Field Guide to Plains Bison and Portraits of the Bison.

A conservationist, writer, and photographer, Harvey Locke is a recognized global leader in the field of parks, wilderness, wildlife, and large landscape conservation.

Leroy Little Bear is a Blackfoot researcher, Professor Emeritus at the University of Lethbridge, founding member of Canada's first Native American Studies Department, Director of the Harvard University Native American Program, and recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Education.