Sidedoor The Missing Bison
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Jul 8, 2026 Siobhan Starrs, Smithsonian exhibition developer, and Kirk Johnson, museum director and paleobotanist, recount the Hornaday bison saga. They trace 19th-century bison collecting, a vanished diorama, the hunt across Montana to find the missing mounts, and the plan to honor that history with bronze replicas and ceremonial reunions.
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Industrial Hunting Collapsed Bison Populations
- Rapid westward expansion, commercial hide markets, and long-range rifles caused an astonishing collapse from tens of millions of bison to a few hundred in decades.
- Hunters used railroads and 'buffalo guns' to kill hundreds per day and ship hides east for industrial use.
Hornaday Brought Sandy And Built A Diorama
- William Temple Hornaday drove to Montana in 1886, found a few surviving bison, and brought a live calf named Sandy back to Washington D.C..
- Hornaday later killed and taxidermied 22 bison, arranging six into a lifelike diorama to shock the public into conserving the species.
Diorama Turned Remote Animals Into Conservation Catalysts
- Hornaday's diorama transformed distant knowledge of bison into an emotional, tangible encounter that spurred public conservation support.
- The exhibit used real Montana dirt and grasses and dynamic poses so visitors felt the animals' presence and responsibility.
