The Story Behind Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains Buffalo

I don't think I've ever met anyone who gets tired of seeing buffalo.

You can drive through the refuge a million times, and the second you see one, everybody in the vehicle locks in. You might snap a few pics, the kids likely ooo and awe, and at least one poindexter likes to point out they're actually "bison," not buffalo... but more on that later.

Doesn't matter that we've seen them before. It's always an experience, especially if you know the history.

While many people just assume they've always been part of the Wichita Mountains, that's not the case at all.

About 125 years ago, America had almost run out of buffalo. What had once been millions across the Great Plains had dwindled to just a tiny fraction of that after decades of overhunting and government-backed extermination.

Not America's best moment in politics, but that's another story.

America's native bison were on the edge of extinction.

Now, the refuge had barely been established when somebody had the foresight to bring a small herd here as part of an effort to save the species.

Think about that for a second.

Every buffalo you've watched hold up traffic on Refuge Road... every calf you've spotted tagging along behind its mom... every giant bull you've wisely admired from inside your truck... they're all part of a conservation success story that almost didn't happen.

You can google it yourself, but the short version is our Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was really close to being carved up and parceled as private property. The whole thing. POTUS McKinley designated it as a reserve in 1901, and Teddy Roosevelt made it official a few years later. Without those two presidents, it wouldn't exist today, and we all mostly be locked out of exploring it.

Today, you can't envision the Wichita Mountains without the buffalo.

Of those first 15 bison railed in from the Bronx Zoo in New York City, they became thousands over the last 125 years. The park aims to keep the herd to 700-ish, so every once in a while they're offered for public auction.

There is more to the whole story, but I hate to steal that thunder. If you haven't seen the short film at the Wichita Mountains Visitors Center, it's the perfect place to get out of the heat and into the AC for a little while. 10/10.