Henry Mountains Bison Herd
Encyclopedia
The Henry Mountains Bison Herd, numbering 250 to 400 bison, is believed to be one of only four free roaming and genetically pure herds on public lands in North America. The other three herds are the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
which was the ancestral herd for the Henry Mountains Bison Herd, the Wind Cave Bison Herd
in South Dakota
and on Elk Island in Alberta, Canada.
The Bison in the Henry Mountains
Bison Herd are American Bison
, and of the Plains Bison subspecies (Bison bison bison). Yellowstone National Park
may be the only location in the United States
where free ranging bison were never exterminated, since they continued to exist in the wild and were not re-introduced as has been done in most other bison herd areas. As a result, the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
became the foundation herd for many others in the United States
, including the Henry Mountains Bison Herd
The bison in the Henry Mountains
herd are one of two bison herds maintained by the State of Utah. The other one is the Antelope Island Bison Herd
. The Henry Mountains Bison Herd has also recently been extended into the mountains of the Book Cliffs
, and this might be considered to be a third bison herd for the State of Utah.
area, on public lands, including the desert lowlands and the mountainous regions to 10000 feet (3,048 m) altitude. They are particularly prominent in the midlevel grassy areas.
Though most of the Bison in this herd are on the 2 million acres (8,093.7 km²) of land on or around the Henry Mountains
of south-central Utah, an ongoing attempt is being made to expand the herd to include areas in the mountains of the Book Cliffs
which are farther north in Central Utah.
(Bison bison) once numbered in the millions, perhaps between 25 million and 60 million by some estimates, and they were possibly the most numerous large land animal on earth. However, they were hunted to near extinction throughout North America
by the late 1880s. The Henry Mountain Bison Herd was started with animals transplanted from the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
. It appears that the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
was the last free ranging bison herd in the United States and the only place where they did not go locally extinct in the USA.
"Bison were introduced into the area in the mid-1940s. Recently, the bison herd has increased to more than 400 head, and is now competing with livestock for summer range forage. This has created the potential for conflict between cattle ranchers on one hand and sportsmen on the other who consider the Henry Mountains prime bison hunting country. In recent years, each bison permit that has been issued by the State of Utah has had 100 applicants."
"The original 18 animals of the Henry Mountains herd were transplanted from Yellowstone National Park in 1941. They were released not into the mountains, but the arid desert of Robber’s Roost, northeast of their eventual home. In 1942, another five bulls were added to the herd. That same year, the whole bunch evidently decided that they wanted to be nearer to the comparatively verdant grassland of the Henrys and moved across the Dirty Devil River to the Burr Desert at the north end of the mountain range. In 1963, the herd moved again, this time into the mountains themselves, abandoning the desert life. The herd thrived in the new locale and quickly grew to about 80 animals. Today, the herd consists of between 300-400 animals, which is regarded as the maximum the range will support."
In January, 2009, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
officials transplanted 31 bison from the Henry Mountains to the Book Cliffs
in eastern Utah. The new group joined 14 animals previously released in August, 2008 from a private herd on the nearby Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation
. This extension of the Henry Mountains Herd should perhaps be considered as a new herd, perhaps with the designation of the Book Cliffs Bison Herd, since they are located approximately 100 miles (160.9 km) north of the Henry Mountains, across mostly dry, desert terrain.
have some areas of Alpine meadows and grass prairie
and this provides a nearly optimum environment for American Bison
.
Bison are large herd animals that defend their young vigorously. American Bison
can run up to 35 miles per hour and are surprising agile, in addition to their notable strength and irritable temperament. However, in the Henry Mountains
there are no significant Apex predators of these bison, except for human beings. In the past, there were Apex predator
s in these regions, but the predators have also been eliminated for the most part, because of their suspected history of predation upon open range cattle and sheep, as well as concerns in the past about the potential danger of human-wolf and human-bear interactions. Significant Apex predators that could help control the bison population would include Brown Bears
, Grizzly Bears and Wolves. Some people suggest that the Henry Mountains could support a population of these predators, if they were re-introduced. Other large mammals found in the Henry Mountains include Elk
, Moose
, Coyotes, Mountain Lions, Bobcats, Mule Deer
, Pronghorn Antelope, and Bighorn Sheep
. Competitive pressure from the other large grazing mammals in the Henry Mountains
may also help limit the number of bison in the herd, but this is not considered to have a significant effect on bison numbers. At the same time, unlike the population of bison in the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
, the Henry Mountain Bison are relatively free of disease, especially Brucellosis
.
A common cause of death for these bison continues to be hunting by human beings. This occurs in late Autumn, each year, when a small number of bison hunting permits are issued by the State of Utah. The Henry Mountain Bison Herd is maintained by the State of Utah as a multi-purpose herd. One reason for the existence of the herd is an attempt to help repopulate bison into some of their previous natural range. But a second purpose is for management as a Big Game
herd and hunting is allowed in these bison under limited conditions. Because of the size of bison and their tendency to graze without excessive fear, hunting of these bison generally consists of the hunter driving his truck up to the herd, shooting a bison, field dressing it, and loading the carcass into the truck.
"The Henry Mountains are the home of the only free-roaming and huntable herd of American bison in the 48 contiguous United States. In 1941, 18 head were transplanted from Yellowstone National Park to the Henry Mountain area. Today over 200 buffalo roam the lower benches of the Henry Mountains in the winter and the higher areas during the summer. Approximately 44 permits to hunt the bison are issued annually by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources."
, also managed by the State of Utah. In that herd, there now appear to be some cattle genes present.
Officially, the "American Buffalo" is classified by the United States Government as a type of cattle, and the government allows private herds to be managed as such. This is a reflection of the characteristics that bison share with cattle. Though the American Bison
(Species: Bison bison) is not only a separate species, but actually in a separate genus from Domestic cattle (Bos primigenius), they clearly have a lot of genetic compatibility and American Bison can interbreed freely with cattle. Moreover, when they do interbreed, the crossbreeds tend to look very much like purebred Bison, so appearance is completely unreliable as a means of determining what is a purebred bison and what is a crossbred cow. Many ranchers have deliberately cross bred their cattle with bison, and it would also be expected that there could be some natural hybridization in areas where cattle and bison occur in the same range. Since cattle and bison eat similar food and tolerate similar conditions, they have often been in the same range together in the past, and opportunity for cross breeding may sometimes have been common.
In recent decades tests were developed to determine the source of mitochondrial DNA in cattle and bison, and it was found that most private 'buffalo' herds were actually cross bred with cattle, and even most state and federal buffalo herds had some cattle DNA. With the advent of nuclear microsatellite DNA testing, the number of herds that contained cattle genes has increased. Though approximately 500,000 bison exist on private ranches and in public herds, some people estimate that perhaps only 15,000 to 25,000 of these bison are pure and are not actually bison-cattle hybrids. "DNA from domestic cattle (Bos taurus) has been detected in nearly all bison herds examined to date." Significant public bison herds that do not appear to have hybridized domestic cattle genes are the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
, the Henry Mountains Bison Herd which was started with bison taken from Yellowstone Park, the Wind Cave Bison Herd
and the Wood Buffalo National Park Bison Herd and subsidiary herds started from it, in Canada
.
A landmark study of bison genetics that was performed by James Derr of the Texas A&M University corroborated this. The Derr study was undertaken in an attempt to determine what genetic problems bison might face as they repopulate former areas, and it noted that bison seem to be doing quite well, despite their apparent genetic bottleneck. One possible explanation for this might be the small amount of domestic cattle genes that are now in most bison populations, though this isn't the only possible explanation for bison success.
In the study cattle genes were also found in small amounts throughout most herds. "The hybridization experiments conducted by some of the owners of the five foundation herds of the late 1800s, have left a legacy of a small amount of cattle genetics in many of our existing bison herds." He also said, "All of the state owned bison herds tested (except for possibly one) contain
animals with domestic cattle mtDNA." It appears that the one state herd that had no cattle genes was the Henry Mountains Bison Herd in the Henry Mountains
of Utah. It was originally founded with bison from the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
. However, the extension of this herd into the Book Cliffs
of Central Utah
involved mixing the founders with additional bison from another source, so it is not known if the Book Cliff extension of the herd is also free of cattle hybridization.
A separate study by Wilson and Strobeck, published in Genome, was done to define the relationships between different herds of bison in the United States and Canada, and to determine whether the bison at Wood Buffalo National Park
in Canada
and the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
were possibly separate subspecies, and not Plains Bison. Some scientists had previously suggested that the Yellowstone Bison were either of the "athabascae" (Wood Bison) subspecies, or that they were a type of 'Mountain Bison' subspecies. It was determined by the study that the Wood Buffalo Park bison were actually cross breeds between Plains Bison and Wood Bison, but that their predominant genetic makeup was truly that of the expected "Wood Buffalo" (Bison bison athabascae). However, the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd were pure Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), and not any of the other previously suggested subspecies. Since the Yellowstone Park Herd are Plains Bison, that would indicate that the Henry Mountain Herd are also Plains Bison.
Several private groups, as well as governmental entities in the United States and Canada are making efforts to return Bison to much of their previous natural range. If there are large tracts of open range and natural habitat that become available for bison, then some private groups have actually purchased these lands and some lands are in the process of being prepared for bison introduction. Currently, some state and national parks have habitat for bison, but most of these already have bison present. In moving bison to new locations, great care should be taken to maintain their genetic diversity, to ensure that valuable genes are not irrevocably lost. Care should also be taken when dealing with any already existing herd, to try to minimize the introduction of domestic cattle genes, which appear to be carried by many bison, into herds where such genes are not currently present.
Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
The Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
which was the ancestral herd for the Henry Mountains Bison Herd, the Wind Cave Bison Herd
Wind Cave Bison Herd
The Wind Cave bison herd is a herd of 250–400 American Bison in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, USA. It is believed to be one of only four free roaming and genetically pure herds on public lands in North America. The other three herds are the Yellowstone Park bison herd, the Henry Mountains...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
and on Elk Island in Alberta, Canada.
The Bison in the Henry Mountains
Henry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
Bison Herd are American Bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
, and of the Plains Bison subspecies (Bison bison bison). Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
may be the only location in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where free ranging bison were never exterminated, since they continued to exist in the wild and were not re-introduced as has been done in most other bison herd areas. As a result, the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
The Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
became the foundation herd for many others in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including the Henry Mountains Bison Herd
The bison in the Henry Mountains
Henry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
herd are one of two bison herds maintained by the State of Utah. The other one is the Antelope Island Bison Herd
Antelope Island Bison Herd
Antelope Island in Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States of America is part of Antelope Island State Park. On the island, a semi-free ranging population of "Buffaloes" or American Bison have been in existence since 1893. Though the island was named for the Pronghorn Antelope that John C...
. The Henry Mountains Bison Herd has also recently been extended into the mountains of the Book Cliffs
Book Cliffs
The Book Cliffs are a series of mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah, in the western United States. They are so named because many of them have the triangular appearance of a book that has been opened up, then turned on its sides and set to rest on the open sides of the book,...
, and this might be considered to be a third bison herd for the State of Utah.
Location
The Henry Mountains Bison Herd is found throughout the Henry MountainsHenry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
area, on public lands, including the desert lowlands and the mountainous regions to 10000 feet (3,048 m) altitude. They are particularly prominent in the midlevel grassy areas.
Though most of the Bison in this herd are on the 2 million acres (8,093.7 km²) of land on or around the Henry Mountains
Henry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
of south-central Utah, an ongoing attempt is being made to expand the herd to include areas in the mountains of the Book Cliffs
Book Cliffs
The Book Cliffs are a series of mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah, in the western United States. They are so named because many of them have the triangular appearance of a book that has been opened up, then turned on its sides and set to rest on the open sides of the book,...
which are farther north in Central Utah.
History
The American BisonAmerican Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
(Bison bison) once numbered in the millions, perhaps between 25 million and 60 million by some estimates, and they were possibly the most numerous large land animal on earth. However, they were hunted to near extinction throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by the late 1880s. The Henry Mountain Bison Herd was started with animals transplanted from the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
The Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
. It appears that the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
The Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
was the last free ranging bison herd in the United States and the only place where they did not go locally extinct in the USA.
"Bison were introduced into the area in the mid-1940s. Recently, the bison herd has increased to more than 400 head, and is now competing with livestock for summer range forage. This has created the potential for conflict between cattle ranchers on one hand and sportsmen on the other who consider the Henry Mountains prime bison hunting country. In recent years, each bison permit that has been issued by the State of Utah has had 100 applicants."
"The original 18 animals of the Henry Mountains herd were transplanted from Yellowstone National Park in 1941. They were released not into the mountains, but the arid desert of Robber’s Roost, northeast of their eventual home. In 1942, another five bulls were added to the herd. That same year, the whole bunch evidently decided that they wanted to be nearer to the comparatively verdant grassland of the Henrys and moved across the Dirty Devil River to the Burr Desert at the north end of the mountain range. In 1963, the herd moved again, this time into the mountains themselves, abandoning the desert life. The herd thrived in the new locale and quickly grew to about 80 animals. Today, the herd consists of between 300-400 animals, which is regarded as the maximum the range will support."
In January, 2009, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is part of the Utah Department of Natural Resources for the state of Utah in the United States. The mission of the Division of Wildlife Resources is to serve the people of Utah as trustee and guardian of the state's wildlife, and to ensure its future and...
officials transplanted 31 bison from the Henry Mountains to the Book Cliffs
Book Cliffs
The Book Cliffs are a series of mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah, in the western United States. They are so named because many of them have the triangular appearance of a book that has been opened up, then turned on its sides and set to rest on the open sides of the book,...
in eastern Utah. The new group joined 14 animals previously released in August, 2008 from a private herd on the nearby Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation
Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation
The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation is located in northeastern Utah, USA. It is the homeland of the Northern Ute Tribe, and is the largest of three Indian reservations inhabited by members of the Ute Tribe of Native Americans. It lies in parts of seven counties; in descending order of land area...
. This extension of the Henry Mountains Herd should perhaps be considered as a new herd, perhaps with the designation of the Book Cliffs Bison Herd, since they are located approximately 100 miles (160.9 km) north of the Henry Mountains, across mostly dry, desert terrain.
Ecology
The Henry MountainsHenry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
have some areas of Alpine meadows and grass prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
and this provides a nearly optimum environment for American Bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
.
Bison are large herd animals that defend their young vigorously. American Bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
can run up to 35 miles per hour and are surprising agile, in addition to their notable strength and irritable temperament. However, in the Henry Mountains
Henry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
there are no significant Apex predators of these bison, except for human beings. In the past, there were Apex predator
Apex predator
Apex predators are predators that have no predators of their own, residing at the top of their food chain. Zoologists define predation as the killing and consumption of another organism...
s in these regions, but the predators have also been eliminated for the most part, because of their suspected history of predation upon open range cattle and sheep, as well as concerns in the past about the potential danger of human-wolf and human-bear interactions. Significant Apex predators that could help control the bison population would include Brown Bears
Brown Bears
The Brown Bears is a name shared by all sports teams at Brown University, a university located in Providence, Rhode Island in the United States. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 37 National...
, Grizzly Bears and Wolves. Some people suggest that the Henry Mountains could support a population of these predators, if they were re-introduced. Other large mammals found in the Henry Mountains include Elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, Moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, Coyotes, Mountain Lions, Bobcats, Mule Deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
, Pronghorn Antelope, and Bighorn Sheep
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...
. Competitive pressure from the other large grazing mammals in the Henry Mountains
Henry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
may also help limit the number of bison in the herd, but this is not considered to have a significant effect on bison numbers. At the same time, unlike the population of bison in the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
The Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
, the Henry Mountain Bison are relatively free of disease, especially Brucellosis
Brucellosis
Brucellosis, also called Bang's disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions...
.
A common cause of death for these bison continues to be hunting by human beings. This occurs in late Autumn, each year, when a small number of bison hunting permits are issued by the State of Utah. The Henry Mountain Bison Herd is maintained by the State of Utah as a multi-purpose herd. One reason for the existence of the herd is an attempt to help repopulate bison into some of their previous natural range. But a second purpose is for management as a Big Game
Big game hunting
Big game hunting is the hunting of large game. The term is historically associated with the hunting of Africa's Big Five game , and with tigers and rhinos on the Indian subcontinent. In North America, animals such as bears and bison were hunted...
herd and hunting is allowed in these bison under limited conditions. Because of the size of bison and their tendency to graze without excessive fear, hunting of these bison generally consists of the hunter driving his truck up to the herd, shooting a bison, field dressing it, and loading the carcass into the truck.
"The Henry Mountains are the home of the only free-roaming and huntable herd of American bison in the 48 contiguous United States. In 1941, 18 head were transplanted from Yellowstone National Park to the Henry Mountain area. Today over 200 buffalo roam the lower benches of the Henry Mountains in the winter and the higher areas during the summer. Approximately 44 permits to hunt the bison are issued annually by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources."
Genetics
The Henry Mountain Bison Herd is considered to be genetically pure, meaning that there is no evidence of significant hybridization between these bison and cattle. This genetic purity appears to be different from the Antelope Island Bison HerdAntelope Island Bison Herd
Antelope Island in Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States of America is part of Antelope Island State Park. On the island, a semi-free ranging population of "Buffaloes" or American Bison have been in existence since 1893. Though the island was named for the Pronghorn Antelope that John C...
, also managed by the State of Utah. In that herd, there now appear to be some cattle genes present.
Officially, the "American Buffalo" is classified by the United States Government as a type of cattle, and the government allows private herds to be managed as such. This is a reflection of the characteristics that bison share with cattle. Though the American Bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
(Species: Bison bison) is not only a separate species, but actually in a separate genus from Domestic cattle (Bos primigenius), they clearly have a lot of genetic compatibility and American Bison can interbreed freely with cattle. Moreover, when they do interbreed, the crossbreeds tend to look very much like purebred Bison, so appearance is completely unreliable as a means of determining what is a purebred bison and what is a crossbred cow. Many ranchers have deliberately cross bred their cattle with bison, and it would also be expected that there could be some natural hybridization in areas where cattle and bison occur in the same range. Since cattle and bison eat similar food and tolerate similar conditions, they have often been in the same range together in the past, and opportunity for cross breeding may sometimes have been common.
In recent decades tests were developed to determine the source of mitochondrial DNA in cattle and bison, and it was found that most private 'buffalo' herds were actually cross bred with cattle, and even most state and federal buffalo herds had some cattle DNA. With the advent of nuclear microsatellite DNA testing, the number of herds that contained cattle genes has increased. Though approximately 500,000 bison exist on private ranches and in public herds, some people estimate that perhaps only 15,000 to 25,000 of these bison are pure and are not actually bison-cattle hybrids. "DNA from domestic cattle (Bos taurus) has been detected in nearly all bison herds examined to date." Significant public bison herds that do not appear to have hybridized domestic cattle genes are the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
The Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
, the Henry Mountains Bison Herd which was started with bison taken from Yellowstone Park, the Wind Cave Bison Herd
Wind Cave Bison Herd
The Wind Cave bison herd is a herd of 250–400 American Bison in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, USA. It is believed to be one of only four free roaming and genetically pure herds on public lands in North America. The other three herds are the Yellowstone Park bison herd, the Henry Mountains...
and the Wood Buffalo National Park Bison Herd and subsidiary herds started from it, in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
A landmark study of bison genetics that was performed by James Derr of the Texas A&M University corroborated this. The Derr study was undertaken in an attempt to determine what genetic problems bison might face as they repopulate former areas, and it noted that bison seem to be doing quite well, despite their apparent genetic bottleneck. One possible explanation for this might be the small amount of domestic cattle genes that are now in most bison populations, though this isn't the only possible explanation for bison success.
In the study cattle genes were also found in small amounts throughout most herds. "The hybridization experiments conducted by some of the owners of the five foundation herds of the late 1800s, have left a legacy of a small amount of cattle genetics in many of our existing bison herds." He also said, "All of the state owned bison herds tested (except for possibly one) contain
animals with domestic cattle mtDNA." It appears that the one state herd that had no cattle genes was the Henry Mountains Bison Herd in the Henry Mountains
Henry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
of Utah. It was originally founded with bison from the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
The Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
. However, the extension of this herd into the Book Cliffs
Book Cliffs
The Book Cliffs are a series of mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah, in the western United States. They are so named because many of them have the triangular appearance of a book that has been opened up, then turned on its sides and set to rest on the open sides of the book,...
of Central Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
involved mixing the founders with additional bison from another source, so it is not known if the Book Cliff extension of the herd is also free of cattle hybridization.
A separate study by Wilson and Strobeck, published in Genome, was done to define the relationships between different herds of bison in the United States and Canada, and to determine whether the bison at Wood Buffalo National Park
Wood Buffalo National Park
Wood Buffalo National Park, located in northeastern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, is the largest national park in Canada at . The park was established in 1922 to protect the world's largest herd of free roaming Wood Bison, currently estimated at more than 5,000...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
Yellowstone Park Bison Herd
The Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
were possibly separate subspecies, and not Plains Bison. Some scientists had previously suggested that the Yellowstone Bison were either of the "athabascae" (Wood Bison) subspecies, or that they were a type of 'Mountain Bison' subspecies. It was determined by the study that the Wood Buffalo Park bison were actually cross breeds between Plains Bison and Wood Bison, but that their predominant genetic makeup was truly that of the expected "Wood Buffalo" (Bison bison athabascae). However, the Yellowstone Park Bison Herd were pure Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), and not any of the other previously suggested subspecies. Since the Yellowstone Park Herd are Plains Bison, that would indicate that the Henry Mountain Herd are also Plains Bison.
Future
There remain various questions and concerns regarding future management of the Henry Mountain Bison Herd.Several private groups, as well as governmental entities in the United States and Canada are making efforts to return Bison to much of their previous natural range. If there are large tracts of open range and natural habitat that become available for bison, then some private groups have actually purchased these lands and some lands are in the process of being prepared for bison introduction. Currently, some state and national parks have habitat for bison, but most of these already have bison present. In moving bison to new locations, great care should be taken to maintain their genetic diversity, to ensure that valuable genes are not irrevocably lost. Care should also be taken when dealing with any already existing herd, to try to minimize the introduction of domestic cattle genes, which appear to be carried by many bison, into herds where such genes are not currently present.
See also
- American BisonAmerican BisonThe American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
- Yellowstone Park Bison HerdYellowstone Park Bison HerdThe Yellowstone Park bison herd in Yellowstone National Park is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States of America. Yellowstone is known for its geothermal activity and large mammals, especially Elk, Wolves, American Bison, Bears, Pronghorn Antelope, Moose and Bighorn...
- Antelope Island Bison HerdAntelope Island Bison HerdAntelope Island in Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States of America is part of Antelope Island State Park. On the island, a semi-free ranging population of "Buffaloes" or American Bison have been in existence since 1893. Though the island was named for the Pronghorn Antelope that John C...
- Wind Cave Bison HerdWind Cave Bison HerdThe Wind Cave bison herd is a herd of 250–400 American Bison in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, USA. It is believed to be one of only four free roaming and genetically pure herds on public lands in North America. The other three herds are the Yellowstone Park bison herd, the Henry Mountains...
- Henry MountainsHenry MountainsThe Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
- Book CliffsBook CliffsThe Book Cliffs are a series of mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah, in the western United States. They are so named because many of them have the triangular appearance of a book that has been opened up, then turned on its sides and set to rest on the open sides of the book,...