Less than 200 years ago, the Great Plains of North America rivaled the Serengeti of Africa in terms of wildlife abundance and diversity. Herds of bison, swift pronghorn antelope, roaming wild horses, and predators like gray wolves, coyotes, and grizzly bears once filled the landscape in such unimaginable numbers that John James Audubon himself wrote that “it is impossible to describe or even conceive the vast multitudes of these animals.”

In American Serengeti, historian and naturalist Dan Flores brings this lost world back to life, blending lyrical narrative with natural history to reveal what happened to these creatures during the 19th and 20th centuries. Through market hunting, ranching interests, and ultimately a federal extermination program, millions of animals were slaughtered, driving entire species to the brink of extinction and forever altering the Great Plains ecosystem.

Flores explores not just the history of this ecological tragedy but also what it means for us today, as we consider the future of wildlife conservation, biodiversity, and America’s natural heritage.