| Buffalo
are native wildlife to the North American Continent. They
once roamed from Appalachia to Alaska, from Florida to Canada. Sadly,
today, they are only found in small managed herds.
Most of the buffalo that people see today live on ranches,
and are raised as livestock. These "domestic" buffalo
carry cattle genes, due to efforts to make a more hearty cow
- what ended up happening was a contamination of the pure
buffalo bloodlines, meaning most buffalo today - except for
a very few public herds - are not genetically pure. These
buffalo are not allowed to be wild, they are are kept on private
ranches, and are mainly raised and sold for meat.
(See
News Article 4/24/02- Substantial
portion of remaining 'pure' bison in Yellowstone
By SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff Writer)
Genetically,
Bison Don't Measure Up to Frontier Ancestors- April
2002 By MARK DERR (NYT) ABSTRACT - Genetic study led by Texas
A&M geneticist Dr James Derr finds that more than 90 percent
of private bison and many animals in publicly owned herds
are actually bison-cow hybrids; finding reduces pool of pure
bison available for preserving species to fewer than 15,000
animals (Word Document,
4 pages)
WARNING: The National Bison Association claims
that the buffalo ranching industry will help repopulate North
America with buffalo. The fact is, these buffalo are not true
buffalo because they carry domestic cattle genes. The truth
is, only Yellowstone National Park harbors America's last
truly-wild buffalo.
Even though ranched buffalo carry cattle genes, there is really
no such thing as a "domestic" buffalo. The buffalo
found on ranches today are still distant relatives to the
great herds that once roamed the width and breadth of North
America. Unfortunately, interbreeding with cattle (in order
to make a more hearty cow), has left most of America‚s
buffalo "contaminated" with domestic livestock (cattle)
genes. Though buffalo are indeed ranched like cattle, they
once were native wildlife. We can safely say that
domestication is being attempted (and to a degree succeeding),
but there is no "domestic" breed of buffalo. These
animals are wild, and so long as one single buffalo gene remains,
they will never truly be domestic.
For information on ranching buffalo from the National
Bison Association: http://www.bisoncentral.com/raising/default.asp
There are approximately 350,000 buffalo in North America
* Roughly 90% of our buffalo are found on private ranches
* 200,000 (give or take) are located on private ranches -
the remining 150,000 or so are managed on public lands. Yellowstone
boasts the *only* genetically-pure, truly wild buffalo, ancestors
to the great herds that once roamed North America.
(From the National Bison Association website) Today's private
land bison, and bison producers, are found in all 50 United
States and all Canadian provinces. There are herds on Long
Island, NY; Kodiak Island, AK; and the islands of Hawaii.
The average herd size is less than 100 animals. The largest
herds number over 3,000.
Bison Ranching Industry Status: http://www.bisoncentral.com/raising/status.asp
# of total wild buffalo / public herds
Where
the buffalo "roam" - from NBA: http://www.bisoncentral.com/history/whereroam.asp
NATIVE AMERICAN HERDS:
From National Bison Association: http://www.bisoncentral.com/history/naherds.asp
From ITBC: http://www.intertribalbison.org/
North American Public
Herds:
Yellowstone National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/nature/animals/bison/bison.html
Golden-Gate NRA: It is said that Golden Gate
National Recreation Area has
11 female buffalo, all kept in captivity. No information could
be found on their website.
Wind Cave National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/wica/pphtml/animals.html
Custer State Park:
http://www.custerstatepark.info/
Badlands National Monument:
http://www.nps.gov/badl/exp/home.htm
Henry Mountains Wilderness:
http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/henry_mtns.htm
Antelope Island State Park:
http://www.utah.com/stateparks/antelope_island.htm
National Bison Range:
http://bisonrange.fws.gov/nbr/
Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge Complex:
http://fortniobrara.fws.gov/#diversity
Grand Teton National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/grte/pphtml/animals.html
Wood Buffalo National Park (Canada):
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/woodbuffalo/index_e.asp
Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
Friends of the Prairie Learning Center: http://www.tallgrass.org/buffalo.html |
