Bison Iubatus.

Etching of a bison by Leendert Brasser (1727 - 1793) after a painting of the Dutch artist Gerrit van den Heuvel.

An early portrait of a bison, etched by Leendert Brasser (1727-93) after Gerrit van den Heuvel.

Gerrit van den Heuvel portraited this bison in 1766 in the menagerie of Arnout Vosmaer (1720 - 1799). Vosmaer was a Dutch naturalist and collection curator. In 1756 Vosmaer became the director of a natural history collection started by Princess Anna, the wife of William IV, Prince of Orange and continued by their son William V. Vosmaer held the post until the Batavian Revolution in 1795.
Vosmaer produced a series of 34 booklets describing animals that were published between 1766 and 1805 in both Dutch and French. Most were on species kept in Prince William V's menagerie. Vosmaer wrote in 1772 "Beschryving van den Amerikaanschen gebulten stier genaamd bison".
The illustration was one of the earliest presentations of a bison in the Netherlands.

The American bison or simply bison, also commonly known as the American buffalo, is an American species of bison that once roamed North America in vast herds. It nearly became extinct by a combination of commercial hunting and slaughter in the 19th century and introduction of bovine diseases from domestic cattle. Through multiple reintroductions, the species is now also freely roaming wild in some regions in Yakutia as well as Mexico.