The North American bison
The first bison came to North America from Asia about 200.000 years ago. They were very big, heavy animals about 2,300 kilograms with horns nearly two metres across.
The Native Americans began to hunt bison thousands of years ago. They used the skins to make clothes, homes, and canoes, and from the bones they made things to fight with. The bison was a very important part of their lives. In the early 1800s there were about 60 million bison across all of North America.