Priscilla H. C. Crawford

Did you know that July is National Bison Month? And the bison is Oklahoma’s state animal.

The largest North American land mammal is the American bison (Bison bison), aka American buffalo. These enormous animals have had an important impact on the ecology and habitats of the Great Plains. Through grazing, seed dispersal, trampling, and wallowing, bison are a keystone species of the prairie.

Bison almost went extinct in the late 1800s. (Learn More) Bison were reintroduced to the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in 1907 in the first animal reintroduction in the U.S. The original bison have thrives and grown into a free ranging herd of about 650. The Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage Co. also has a herd of about 2,500 bison. 

Although there has been growth with the bison herd in the Wichitas and Osage Co., the population represents only tiny fraction of the original herd of millions. With such a dramatic decrease in overall population size, there is concern about maintaining a genetically diverse herd.  To that end, refuge and preserve staff regularly conduct genetic analyses to determine which individuals to retain in the population and which should be transferred to other properties.