The first baby bison is now grazing the Prairies at Wanuskewin Heritage Park after a long period of absence.
11 genetically-pure Plains bison from herds in the US and the Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park were brought to Wanuskewin which is 5 km north of Saskatoon back in December 2019.
The first birth of a baby bison happened on Earth Day, April 22nd.
This is the first bison that’s born on its ancestral land in Wanuskewin since 1876 and their subsequent extirpation, according to the officials.
This means that the species ceased to exist in a specific area, even though it still does exist in other parts of the world.
Newborn Female Calf Bison on Its Ancestral Land
The newborn bison is female and is genetically linked to the Yellowstone National park herd.
And, the good news is that more babies are expected this spring. This effort came to its fulfillment in 2017 after Wanuskewin launched a $40 million campaign to fund the renewal.
The co-chair of the campaign, Felix Thomas said that welcoming back the bison to this area was a pillar of the fundraising campaign and also noted that every birth is linked to the circle of life and signals progress.
They’re more than pleased to watch this baby thunder the plains soon.
Currently, Wanuskewin is closed due to the pandemic; however, its reopening is expected during the 4th phase of the government’s Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
The Amazing Wanuskewin Heritage Park
This park has been inhabited by its residents for more than 6000 years.
The officials have been working on its revitalization for a long period of time in order to designate a World Heritage Side.
They succeeded in bringing a herd of common buffalo back to the country. For them, this is an iconic moment, especially for the natives who’ve been working on this for more than 40 years.
Everyone is beyond happy and say they’ve been waiting for this day for a long period of time.
The 11 bison that were brought to the park were 5 bulls and 4 cows were from a ranch in South Dakota whereas 6 calves came from the Grasslands National Park.
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