<
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/07/13/bison-buffalo-oklahoma-extinct-climate-change/>
"Miles of prairie stretched out across the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in
southern Oklahoma, acre after acre of brush, grasses and hearty vegetation
creeping toward the low-range granite mountains rising in the distance. Like in
much of Oklahoma, the road is flat here, but the speed limit remains 30 mph.
That’s because of the bison.
They appeared seemingly out of nowhere: dozens of massive animals lumbering up
the shoulder of the road to cross to the fresh vegetation on the other side.
The herd moved slowly, their soft, bovine eyes barely registering the stopped
cars awaiting their passage. They quickly set to work mowing down the fresh
springtime grass.
The bison’s quiet munching does more than nourish their bodies — it’s one of
many things they do to nurture their entire ecosystem, one that is increasingly
under threat from climate change. Grazing bison shaving down acres of
vegetation leave more than dung behind: Their aggressive chewing spurs growth
of nutritious new plant shoots, and their natural behaviors — the microhabitats
they create by rolling in the ground, the many birds that forged symbiotic
relationships with them — trickle down the food chain. Once bordering on
extinction, bison now serve as a great provider for their ecosystems, standing
as an example of the ways in which animal conservation and ecological
protection can work in tandem."
Via
Future Crunch Jul 25, 2022:
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-aids-botswana-coal-us-ocean-colombia/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
