In October, PBS will air the new Ken Burns documentary about the history, evolution, and significance of the American buffalo.
The two-part series aptly titled The American Buffalo covers “more than 10,000 years of North American history” by following the animal’s existence and near extinction on the continent.
Burns called it “a quintessentially American story” as well as “a morality tale” that encompasses two historical lessons that resonate today.
He said it’s about “how humans can damage the natural world and also how we can work together to make choices to preserve the environment around us.”
The first episode shows the “startling swiftness of the species’ near extinction in the late 19th century” when the population was reduced from an estimated 30 million to fewer than a thousand.
The second episode, however, details the “lesser-known part of the story” by focusing on the people who saved the species from extermination and how they did it.
The Kens Burns documentary The American Buffalo will air on Oct. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. Eastern on PBS.
