Bison Fact Sheet
The bison is the largest land mammal in North America.
An adult male bison is called a "bull"; an adult female is called a "cow"; and
a young bison is called a "calf".
• The adult bison weighs between 800 and 2000 pounds. (An adult bull can
weigh up to 2000 pounds and can stand 6.5 feet tall. An adult cow can
weigh more than 1000 pounds and is only a little shorter than a bull.
• Bison move an average of 2 miles per day to graze.
• When necessary bison can run 35 miles per hour and keep that pace for
half an hour.
• Both male and female bison have horns. The average bison horn is 2 feet
long, and the span between two bison horns can be more than 2 feet.
• The calf is born without horns or hump. They start to grow when the calf is
2 months old.
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History of the Herd
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Herd size at its peak was estimated at 30- 60 million in 1700.
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Size diminished to 541 by 1890 due to the hide markets back East and
purposeful hunting in the 1870's.
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In 1875 Charlie Goodnight, a Texas rancher and former Texas Ranger and
his wife, Molly Goodnight, saved several orphaned calves on the Texas
Plains and began the Goodnight herd.
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The Goodnight herd was one of five foundation herds that supplied stock to
save American bison from extinction and represents the last of the southern
plains bison herd.
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By 1997 only 32 of the original descendants of this wild Southern Plains
Texas herd could be found in the Panhandle of Texas on the JA Ranch.
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The JA Ranch offered these bison to the state of Texas where they were relocated to their current home in Caprock Canyon State Park.
Restoration Efforts
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"Of all bison alive today, the JA Ranch bison are uniquely important because they have been
kept isolated at the site where they were caught in the 1870's and not cross-bred with other
bison," said Andrew Sansom, TPWD executive director. "They are a potent symbol of the
American West, and their addition to the Texas State Park system means the heritage they
represent will be preserved for future generation."
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CAPROCK CANYONS STATE PARK, Texas (AP) - Six years ago, inbreeding
threatened to destroy the last herd of southern Plains bison. Only 53 were left,
and breeders were having trouble getting females to carry their calves to term.
Tests showed that unless something was done to increase the diversity of genes
in the historic herd, all the animals would be gone within 50 years.
Researchers now say a donation of a few bulls from media mogul Ted
Turner seems to have done the trick. The herd has increased to 75 bison, and
while more work to preserve the animals remains, there's no longer an
immediate risk of extinction.
"It has made a significant difference," said James Derr, a professor of veterinary
pathobiology at Texas A&M. "We have definitely improved the genetic diversity
and reduced the inbreeding in the herd."
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2011- The next step in managing these animals is to release them from captive pens
back to their native home, free-roaming an open range of 1,000 acres at Caprock
Canyons State Park—a fitting landscape of tall-grass prairie, sandstone escarpments
and wide-open spaces. Releasing them will be a historic event, as it marks the first
time these animals have had free range in their lifetimes, and will also provide visitors
an up-close experience of seeing them roam throughout the park.
Our Partnership and Goal
In the Fall of 2013 York Jr. High 7th grade History classes formed a
partnership with Caprock Canyon State Park and the State Bison Herd
under the direction of Park Superintendent Donald Beard.
The Park plans to release the herd from their 1000 acre range to an
additional 10,000 park acres.
York's goal is to provide a GPS tracking collar for one of the cows that will
enable the students to track the movement of the herd from the classroom
and provide a data collection system for the Park.
Highlights
Students host a Bison Booth at the fall Nest Fest festival and kick off “Helping
the Herd” T-shirt Sales
October visit from Donald Beard
Teachers attend a Bison Workshop in Crockett, TX
Language Arts holds a news article contest for publication in the Texas Bison
Association Journal
Students write letters to ask for support and endorsement of their project from
Governor Rick Perry, Carter Smith Executive Directior of Texas Parks and Wildlife,
Laura Bush and the Taking Care of Texas Foundation, State Representatives and
Senators
Texas History holds a PSA contest where students create a 1-2 minute Public
Service Announcement to be shown to the Partners of Caprock Canyon annual
meeting in January.
By mid November, students had raised $1100 of the estimated $3500 needed.
December 1st anticipated launch date for York's Bison Webpage that will include a
Donate Button