5 states with the most buffalo
South Dakota’s Custer State Park is famous for its annual buffalo roundup. The herds there and at Badlands National Park are the two major publicly owned bison herds in the state, but there are also thousands of tribally and privately owned bison in South Dakota. In fact, South Dakota has more bison than any other state, according to the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture completed in 2012. Here are the top five bison states and the number of bison in each state.
No. 5: Oklahoma, 9,685.
One of the biggest herds in the Sooner State numbers 2,700 and roams the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve near Pawhuska.
No. 4: Colorado, 10,731
Appropriately, the University of Colorado’s sports teams are known as the Buffaloes.
No. 3: Montana, 14,671
Many of Montana’s bison are part of the roughly 3,700-head Yellowstone National Park herd.
No. 2: Nebraska, 23,152.
Media reports have said a substantial number of the bison in Nebraska are owned by media mogul Ted Turner.
No. 1: South Dakota, 33,637
Despite being the bison capital of the nation, South Dakota’s state animal is the coyote.