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The study's methodology could also be adapted to reconstruct the causes of population declines and range collapses of other large herbivores, including American bison, to improve awareness of past threats and enrich current conservation plans.

Large herbivores like the American bison and the white rhinoceros traditionally clipped grass and ate shrubs, reducing available wildfire fuel.

Displayed for educational purposes, the wild creatures include deer, antlers, birds and Floyd, an impressive North American bison.

Before European colonization, North America had an estimated 30 to 60 million plains bison, one of two subspecies of the American bison.

American bison, also known as buffalo, have bounced back from near-extinction in the 1880s but remain absent from most of the grasslands they once occupied.