Buffalo being hunted almost to extinction wasn't a case of tragedy of the commons, it was part of a deliberate policy to drive Native Americans from the land.

'Kill Every Buffalo You Can! Every Buffalo Dead Is an Indian Gone' https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2016/05/the-buf...

There was a larger species of buffalo that was driven to extinction long before Europeans reached the western hemisphere.

But, you're right about the smaller bison species that we are all familiar with.

About 2 thirds of large mammal species were wiped out in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand within a few millennia of humans stepping foot there.