Descendants of the once vast Southern Plains bison herd now have an expanded home where they'll roam at Caprock Canyons State Park in Texas.
The 80 bison -- whose ancestors were part of a herd that prior to the 1870s numbered between 30-60 million head -- have a range covering more than 700 acres of restored native grass prairie, which will also allow park visitors to have a more up-close encounter with the mammals. Until now, the official state bison herd was confined to a 300-acre area of the park and could only be viewed from a considerable distance.
"This is first and foremost a restoration project, not an exhibit" said park superintendent Donald Beard. "We’re not just showing the bison, but are restoring an indigenous animal to its native habitat. For park visitors, it will be just like experiencing deer, roadrunners or any other wildlife in the wild. But it’s important to remember that the bison have the right-of-way and need to be given a large buffer zone." (Beard is in the below video, sharing interesting tidbits about bison -- about this herd and bison in general.)
An official ribbon cutting marking the completion of Phase I -- the release of the bison into their expanded range -- will take place Saturday at 9 a.m. to kick off the Caprock Partners Foundation’s Texas State Bison Herd Restoration Celebration. Weekend entry fees to the park will be waived and there will be exhibits, interactive displays and food and drink booths, including a booth offering a bison burger meal with proceeds going toward the restoration project.
Future phases of the project, depending on adequate funding, have the ultimate goal of restoring the herd to the park’s entire 15,000-acres.
Photo: Remnants of the great Southern Plains bison herd enjoy their new 700-acre expanded range of restored native prairie at Texas' Caprock Canyons State Park. Credit: Earl Nottingham / Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
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