The Tallgrass Prairie bison herd is a population of genetically pure American bison (Bison bison) inhabiting the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in central Kansas.
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History
Bison were reintroduced to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in October 2009 when seven male and six female bison from Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota were transported to the Tallgrass Prairie's 1,100-acre Windmill Pasture. Two of the transported bulls died after arriving in Kansas and were replaced by two males, also sourced from the Wind Cave bison herd, purchased from Dunn Ranch in Missouri. The Tallgrass Prairie bison herd is considered a satellite herd of the Wind Cave bison herd and is one of only a few genetically pure public bison herds, populations that show no evidence of cattle introgression.
Size and status
The population's first calf was born on May 9, 2010. The herd numbered twenty-three animals in December 2013. Plans to transplant an additional twelve bison from the Wind Cave bison herd were delayed by the United States federal government shutdown of 2013. The transfer is now expected to occur in 2014, bringing the herd closer to its planned size of 75 to 100 animals.