America's official mammal, the bison, gets a bronze tribute for the country's 250th birthday

KEARNEY, Mo. (AP) — The national mammal of the United States is getting in on America's 250th birthday celebration.

Three bison statues cast in bronze have taken up a permanent display outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. The pieces — which are larger than real-life bison — made their public debut in the nation's capital on Friday.

The bison earned its official status as the nation's mammal under a law signed by former President Obama in 2016. Millions of bison once roamed the Great Plains but were nearly driven to extinction in the 1800s.

“It’s a wonderful story of conservation working, it’s a story of people seeing a need and getting behind that to conserve an animal that is specific to North America,” said Gary Staab, a paleoartist who made the statues.

Staab designed and sculpted the statues in Kearney, Missouri, where he works full-time to create sculptures of animals and historical artifacts for museums around the world. For the bison, Staab sculpted the full-size statues in foam and clay before they were cast in bronze and assembled at a foundry in Colorado. The three statues depict a bull, a cow and a calf.

He said it took about four months to complete the sculptures — a time frame he called “lighting fast” given the size of the pieces.

“They really represent a really unbelievably beautiful and unique thing about North America,” Staab said.

Bison statues cast in bronze are on permanent display outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. The Washington Monument is in the background. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Paleoartist Gary Staab holds a small-scale prototype of a bison sculpture while standing next to the full-size clay sculpture he crafted at his studio in Kearney, Mo., on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)

Paleoartist Gary Staab stands next to one of the clay sculptures of bison statues he crafted at his studio in Kearney, Mo., on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)

Bison statues cast in bronze are on permanent display outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Bison statues cast in bronze are on permanent display outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

DETROIT (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov completed the sixth hat trick of his NHL career on the power play with 1:51 remaining to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.

The Wild led 4-1 before allowing Detroit to score three times in the third period and tie it. A penalty on Patrick Kane paved the way for Kaprizov to score his third goal of the game.

The Red Wings led the Atlantic Division and were tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference the morning of Jan. 25, with a 12-point playoff cushion. They've lost 12 of 20 games since to fall out of a spot with five left to play.

Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello each had an assist on the go-ahead goal. Vladimir Tarasenko and Boldy each scored for the Wild after Albert Johansson had a goal in the first.

J.T. Compher, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Kane scored on Filip Gustavsson to rally back. Gustavsson finished with 18 saves, while Detroit's Cam Talbot allowed five goals on 20 shots.

Wild: Host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

Red Wings: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53) defends Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) as he attempts to shoot on Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (39)in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) shoots but misses as Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) defends and defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) looks on in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov celebrates his goal against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (39) stops a Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) shot in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)