The bison is now the national mammal of the United States/Deby Dixon

With his signature, President Obama on Monday signed off on legislation that makes the bison the national mammal of the United States. But that doesn't mean the icon of the National Park Service won't be hunted if it wanders out of Yellowstone National Park.

In the late 19th century, the possibility arose that bison would be wiped off the U.S. landscape. But William Temple Hornaday, who traveled the world over collecting (e.g., killing) wildlife specimens that could be sold to museums, universities, and even private collectors for exhibits, became enamored with bison when he went West to kill one or two for display in the National Museum before the species went extinct.

Rather than sit by idly and wait for the species to be wiped out, Hornaday and a young Theodore Roosevelt launched the American Bison Society to work to preserve the species. They did, of course, succeed. Today there are an estimated 10,000 bison on public lands -- places such as Yellowstone and Wind Cave national parks -- and thousands more on private ranches and state parks. Yellowstone, with nearly 5,000 bison, claims the greatest bison population on public lands.

The legislation calling for the national mammal designation notes the strong ties bison have with the country, the reliance Native American tribes had on the herds, the benefits grazing bison bring to prairie, and the economic value they hold.

The bison, of course, has been on the Interior Department's official seal since 1912, and is on the National Park Service's emblem, the arrowhead. The shaggy animals -- the largest mammal in the United States -- now join such other national emblems as the oak tree (the national tree since 2004), the Bald eagle (the national emblem since 1782), and the rose (the national floral emblem since 1998) as official symbols of the United States.

However, for those who might be wondering, the designation of the bison as the national mammal confers no special protections to prevent those in Yellowstone from being hunted if they wander out of the park and into Montana.

Nothing in this Act or the adoption of the North American bison as the national mammal of the United States shall be construed or used as a reason to alter, change, modify, or otherwise affect any plan, policy, management decision, regulation, or other action by the Federal Government.