A herd of bison move through land controlled by the American Prairie Reserve south of Malta, Mont. | AP Photo Obama makes North American bison national mammal

Move over, bald eagle; you've got company.

The North American bison became a national symbol of the United States on Monday, as President Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act into law. The legislation adopts the once-nearly extinct species as the country's official national mammal.


The House and Senate moved on the legislation last month, which sought to put the bald eagle on equal footing with the bison as an official symbol of the U.S. Bald eagle lovers need not worry. Contrary to rumors, the law does not mean the bald eagle has lost its status. The move followed lobbying from a varied coalition of conservationists, tribal groups and ranchers.

As of 2012, there were 162,110 bison on private farms and ranches, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture census, in addition to an estimated 20,000 roaming public lands in the U.S. and Canada. While a far cry from the tens of millions that once roamed the country before the intensification of bison hunting, the number of bison (or buffalo, as they are also called) has risen thanks to conservation efforts.

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