For more than two centuries, the bald eagle has symbolized the U.S. in feathered form. Now, the bird of prey is getting some emblematic company: The American bison has become the country’s official National Mammal.
President Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act into law on Monday, honoring the role the enormous animal has played in American history. In addition to the species’ importance in many Native American cultures, the bison has also served as a symbol of conservation success, coming back from the brink of extinction with an assist from Teddy Roosevelt.
See Majestic Historical Photos of the U.S.’s New National Mammal
![Lithograph of an American Indian on horseback killing a bison. Circa 1850-1860.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-01.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Stereoscopic view of a Bison. Circa 1875.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A postcard illustrating Bison at water. Circa 1898-1931.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-03.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Herd of American Bison, browsing in safety, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Circa 1895-1920.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-04.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![American bison, circa 1906.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-05.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Bison in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Circa 1907.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-06.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Bison An American bison, circa 1930.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-07.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Migrating Herd A herd of bison migrating south from Yukon. Circa 1930.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-08.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![DECEMBER 1935. ARIZONA. BISON HERD Bison herd in Arizona. 1935.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-09.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![09/29/1945 On a ranch in southern Michigan; there are several hundred wild bison snorting and pawing the ground and ready to toss all intruders. 1945.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-10.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Animals, pic: circa 1950's, An American Bison or Buffalo, a large hoofed mammal of the bovine family, The North American Bison, (there is a European Bison) was almost hunted to extinction in the later 19th century but as now established itself again in pr A North American Bison, circa 1950s.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-11.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Bison in Wildlife Refuge Bison in Wildlife Refuge](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-12.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![DEC 7 1954, DEC 8 1954; The roundup had not started when this photo was taken, but the buffalo, alre Bison crowded together in a corner of one of their enclosures at Daniels Park.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-13.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![DEC 2 1957; Well into his 20s, this white bull is one of the most photographed animals on the bison The most photographed Bison in Montana, 1957.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-14.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![01348774.jpg Herd of bison roaming across National Bison Range in Montana. 1961.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160428-american-bison-15.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
According to a 2012 census taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there were more than 180,000 bison roaming public and private lands in the U.S. and Canada, Politico reports.
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