Five calves born to new 'pure' bison herd in Montana

25/09/2006 00:00:00 28 May 2006. Five wild baby bison have been born on the plains of eastern Montana. The bison are part of a wild herd that live on a new prairie wildlife preserve and are the first bison to be born on this part of the Great Plains, the heart of their historic range, in 120 years.

"These baby bison are entering this world just as the grass is starting to grow after a long, cold winter. Just a few days old, they're already running around, playing and chasing each other," said Sean Gerrity, president of the American Prairie Foundation (APF), the nonprofit owner of the prairie preserve. Although around a half-million bison live in North America, just 20,000 or so can be considered "wild" and most wild bison are beset by problems such as small herd size, intensive management and culling practices, absence of major predators, and non-native diseases. All told, there is no viable bison herd that is free of problematic diseases such as brucellosis or exists under natural conditions. In other words, there is no bison herd large enough or healthy enough to maintain the long-term genetic health of the species.

"These bison babies represent a future for our children and grandchildren that include wild bison. Most people have no idea how threatened bison are," said Dr. Curt Freese, director of the Northern Great Plains office of World Wildlife Fund, APF's partner on the prairie preserve.