Several months after the House of Representatives passed a bill adopting the bison as the "national mammal," the bill has finally been made official. In a ceremony at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota on Tuesday, the animal was officially designated as the national mammal.
While the bill was signed in May, the ceremony was scheduled for November to better coincide with Native American Month as well as National Buffalo Day, the first Saturday in November.
“We worked with Congress over about a six-year period, but it was signed into law in May of this year,” Kelly Aylward, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Washington, D.C., office, said during the dedication ceremony at the park. “It was a long journey, working through the system. But we had great champs in both the House and the Senate.”
Aylward said she hopes the designation will bring more awareness and support to the cause of conserving and reviving bison -- commonly called buffalo -- herds across the nation. Although the bill was passed in May, the victory was scheduled to coincide with Native American Month, which is November, and National Buffalo Day, which is the first Saturday in November.
And here's an adorable picture of a baby bison, because why not:
Don't ask me how I knew you wanted to see this baby bison pic.twitter.com/efnE5Va0tn
— Kenneth Lipp (@kennethlipp) November 3, 2016