The American plains bison is the official mammal of the United States and evokes images of the past when great herds thundered across the plains.  A small herd of these inspirational and ecologically important animals now roams a little closer to home.  Thanks to a partnership between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Minnesota Zoo, Minneopa State Park near Mankato now has a bison herd!  We invite you to visit and take a drive through the bison range!

Where did the Minneopa bison come from?  Eleven female bison were reintroduced into Minneopa in September of 2015. Three bison came from the Minnesota Zoo and eight were brought in from Blue Mounds State Park.  Together, these bison are jointly managed between the Zoo and the DNR as the Minnesota Bison Conservation Herd.  This fall, the Zoo will be bringing in a new breeding bull from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.  After a brief stay at the Zoo, he will be released at Minneopa State Park, in the hopes of eventually growing that herd to 30-40 bison.

Even more work is needed to keep the species healthy for years to come.  To grow the herd and add valuable genetics, we hope to soon welcome bison calves from Yellowstone National Park!  However, they will come to us as embryos.  This month, the Minnesota Zoo is hosting a research scientist from Colorado State University, Dr. Jennifer Barfield.  Jennifer will bring bison embryos that were safely removed from bison cows in Yellowstone National Park.  She will then transplant these embryos into the four Minnesota Zoo bison cows, which will hopefully result in four Yellowstone calves being born at the zoo next spring.  If one is a male, he will be used as a future breeder in our herd and valuable Yellowstone genetics will be added to our conservation herd!

Please consider making a donation to support our important conservation work in Minnesota and around the world when you enter the Zoo!  You also can donate online to support work to restore wild bison in our state.