A photo of a young American bison, taken nearly two decades ago in Yellowstone National Park, is about to become a US postage stamp. It’s a pretty cool nod to an animal that’s seen as a symbol of toughness.
These bison are seriously ancient survivors. They're some of the last big animals left from the Ice Age, when most huge creatures vanished. Wildlife photographer Tom Murphy, who took the stamp photo, calls them "ultimate survivors."
They didn't just make it through that ancient extinction event. They also bounced back from widespread hunting that dropped their numbers to just 300 in the early 1900s. Now, thanks to conservation efforts over the last 150 years, nearly 500,000 bison roam North America. That's a wild comeback story.
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Start Your News DetoxMurphy points out that other giants like mammoths and dire wolves are long gone. Bison are still here, and he sees them as a living symbol of the American West's ability to recover. That's why this stamp is a big deal.
Murphy grew up on a ranch in South Dakota, surrounded by farm animals and wide-open skies. That early connection to the West stuck with him.
He even left college to explore places like the Badlands and Yellowstone. That's when he picked up a camera, teaching himself to capture the wild beauty he saw. He's traveled the world photographing wildlife, but Yellowstone always pulls him back. He’s hiked and skied thousands of miles there, including a two-week solo ski trip covering 175 miles. He says being in nature helps him focus on the animals, not himself.
Murphy is honored by the stamp, but he's also realistic about the challenges ahead. Climate change is hitting Yellowstone hard, with wildfires changing forests and rising temperatures affecting snow, habitats, and animal movements. He worries that some of the landscapes and creatures he's photographed might not be around forever.
Still, he hopes his photos and this new stamp inspire people to care more about the planet. It's a reminder of the wild beauty we have, and why it's worth protecting. The stamp drops later this year.
