Bison at sunrise, Yellowstone National Park. I think they're the defining symbol of America and the West. North America once had tens of millions of bison that were the backbone of Native American culture and survival. Tens of millions! European settlers arrived in the 1800's and in their effort to conquer Native Americans, private hunters and U.S. Troops nearly wiped out bison completely. Efforts to restore bison began in the early 1900's. There is much more to this story and challenges arrived at every turn, but today there are approximately 31,000 wild bison in North America and Yellowstone supports between 3,000 to nearly 6,000 bison.