Bison Return To Illinois

[Gloria]

Exciting news!

Reintroduced bison could revive Illinois prairie - Chicago Tribune

"We want these animals to be as wild as possible," Nachusa Grasslands Project Director Bill Kleiman said. But five of the bison are fitted with GPS tracking devices and fencing has been erected along the edges of the prairie and the few public roads in Nachusa.

Short-term plans for the Nachusa bison call for gradually expanding the area the animals can roam and adding about 30 of them to the prairie through next year, Kleiman said. By then, the bison will be able to graze on 1,500 acres.

The important distinction of the Nachusa bison, conservationists say, is that they have not been interbred with other species, remain genetically diverse and are wild.

[Gloria]

PBS Chicago Tonight interview video.

Bison to Return to the Prairie State | Chicago Tonight | WTTW

Genetic diversity is a concern, as today’s population was bred from the small number of remaining bison in the early 20th century. Six of the Nature Conservancy’s 14 bison herds, including the herd headed for the Nachusa Grasslands, can be traced back to Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.

“Unlike most other American bison, animals from the Wind Cave herd have not been bred with cattle,” The Nature Conservatory said on its website. “Bison from Wind Cave are the species’ most genetically pure and diverse specimens.”

[Gloria]

More information about the genetic diversity of the bison herds.
Video documentary

http://youtu.be/6lk84u2BUdU

[kchd]

Ooooooooo, that is sooo awesome!

[Gloria]

A new video about the bison return to Illinois.

Bison Return to Nachusa Grasslands | The Nature Conservancy