Bison expected to become America's national mammal

If everything goes as planned, the bison will soon become the National Mammal of the U.S., reports the Huffington Post.

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According to the Washington Post, the legislation known as National Bison Legacy Act has already passed in the House of Representatives, and there are indications it will make it through the Senate without complications.

See wood bison restoration in Alaska:

Once approved, the mighty land animal will join the country's other national symbols, the bald eagle, the oak tree, and the rose, notes the Guardian.

Though the bison was once plentiful throughout the area now known as the United States, the white settlers' desire to claim western land occupied by Native Americans nearly rendered it extinct.

The mass killing of the buffalo was employed as a tactic to weaken those who depended upon the animal for both physical and spiritual sustenance.

Rebuilding bison populations became increasingly popular throughout the 20th century, and such efforts have proven to be quite successful.