Posted on 02/06/2005 3:18:49 PM PST by Theodore R.
Preserving the buffalos Fate of Texas herd rests with donated bulls
By BETSY BLANEY Associated Press
CAPROCK CANYONS STATE PARK, Texas The rumble from stampeding bison used to shake the earth as thousands of the majestic animals thundered across these parts centuries ago.
That sound has faded almost entirely now, and the fate of one of the last pure herds in North America begun by famed cattleman Charles Goodnight rests with a trio of bulls donated by media tycoon Ted Turner.
The herd, once 250 strong, has dwindled to 53, and more than a century of inbreeding threatens it survival. The herds average age has increased by three years bison typically live between 12 to 15 years and the number of calves has dropped in recent years. Nine were born last year.
With the donation of Turners bulls, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M Universitys College of Veterinarian Medicine hope to strengthen the herd and preserve an animal that symbolizes the American West.
"We dont know exactly what the outcome will be," said James Derr, an associate professor of veterinary pathoboiology at Texas A&M. "We do know the outcome if we do nothing. This herd will become extinct."
The Texas herd was started in the 1870s with five bison calves captured by Goodnight, one of the most prosperous cattlemen in the American West, with more than 1 million acres of ranch land and 100,000 head of cattle at his peak.
His wife, Mary Ann, urged him to save the bison, also known as buffalos, because hunters were killing them by the hundreds of thousands for their hides and meat, and to crush American Indian tribes who depended on the animals for food and clothing.
The herd was donated to the state in 1997 and moved to 330 acres of Caprock Canyons State Park, which was once part of Goodnight's JA Ranch between Lubbock and Amarillo.
While doing pregnancy tests on the herd in fall 2001, researchers found that 15 of the 18 adult females were pregnant. However, by spring, when the females were due, only five calves survived. The rest were either not born or did not survive long after birth.
Disease and genetic problems, such as chromosomal defects, were ruled out. As part of another project, Derr and another researcher already were sampling the DNA from the federal bison herds throughout the United States. They knew how much genetic variation there should be in an "average" bison, and they found the Texas herd "had significantly less genetic variation" than any of the federal herds and most of the state and private herds, Derr said.
Researchers concluded the herd suffered from inbreeding depression. Since the herd was confined on the Goodnight ranch and then the state park, no new genes had entered the herd in 120 years. A computer model showed the herd would probably die out in 50 years if nothing was done to diversify the gene pool.
Still, researchers were reluctant to tamper with the herd too much, Derr said.
Since the herd originated in the Texas Panhandle, it is probably the last genetic example of what was called the Southern Plains bison, said Danny Swepston, a state wildlife district leader who oversees the herd.
When the Transcontinental Railroad was built across the United States in the 1800s, the bison which are believed to have numbered in the tens of millions were split into what was known as the Northern and the Southern herds. The Southern herds were made up of animals from Texas, eastern New Mexico, eastern Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and southern Nebraska.
Derr said the best option was to try and find a herd with a historical link to the Texas bison and a lot of genetic variation, but not hybrids of cattle and bison, or infected with contagious diseases.
They found their link with Turners herd in New Mexico. So in 2003, wildlife representatives, along with Texas A&M researchers, traveled across the Texas border and chose three 1 1/2-year-old bison bulls.
Turner owns the largest private bison herd in the world with about 40,000 head on 13 ranches in seven states. He is interested in rebuilding the country's bison population, which currently is about 250,000. He also raises bison to supply meat at his Ted's Montana Grill restaurant chain.
"We obviously are committed to the conservation of bison as a keystone species," said Russ Miller, general manager of Turner Enterprises, which oversees Turners herd. "We were glad to be contributing partners to the effort."
In June, one of the Turner bulls will breed with as many as five females, Derr said. The females will be kept in an area separate from the rest of the Texas herd, which will continue its regular breeding cycle.
Researchers will check the DNA of the calves in December 2006 to gauge the amount of genetic variation brought to the Texas herd, and then use the other two bulls for breeding over the next two years. It will take about seven years to see if the breeding experiment is a success, Derr said.
Pat Bierschwale, president of the Texas Bison Association, said the project is just the latest step in a preservation effort started more than 130 years ago by Goodnight.
"Whats the alternative if the herd is destined to be extinct?" he said. "Are we doing any less than Mr. Goodnight did by trying to save them?"
On the Net:
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/expltx/eft/bison Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine: http://www.cvm.tamu.edu National Bison Association: http://www.nbabison.org Texas Bison Association: http://www.texasbison.org 02/06/05
Some of the most noble and majestic animals, the Great Plains bison.
This is a worthy project. I am glad to see something being done to save these majestic animals.
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/d_h/goodnight.htm
Charles Goodnight
(1836-1929)
A daring idea and the determination to make it succeed helped Charles Goodnight become one of the most prosperous cattlemen in the American West.
Goodnight was born in 1836 in Macoupin County, Illinois, but moved to Texas at ten years of age with his mother and stepfather. Ten years later, he entered the cattle business on the northwest Texas frontier, where he also served with the local militia in their long-running battle against Comanche raiders. Goodnight joined the Texas Rangers in 1857 and fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War.
At the war's end, Goodnight returned to Texas and joined in "making the gather" -- a near state-wide round-up of cattle that had roamed free during the four long years of war. Having recovered his herd, however, Goodnight now faced the problem of bringing it to market somewhere outside the war-ravaged South. He decided to head west, toward New Mexico and Colorado, despite the fact that getting there would mean driving the herd across a waterless stretch of west Texas.
snip
Does everybody know that their is a tiny town called "Goodnight" in northern TX west of Wichita Falls?
http://www.texashiking.com/hiking/HikeDetail.asp?HikeID=187
Scroll down for some great pictures of Caprock State Park.
It's in the PBS story I posted.
http://www.palodurocanyon.com/
This also mention Goodnight and has a spectacular picture of "our Grand Canyon".
http://www.asergeev.com/pictures/archives/1997/45/browser1.htm
Great pictures.. push "back" for more pictures.
Yes, but I bet they don't have ANY alligators in the park.
Here in the Panhandle our little town was developed and established for buffalo hunters , hides and an even bigger business......the bones that were left on the plains. The bones were collected and piled higher than most of the buildings along the railroad tracks.
Just a few miles from my place there is a small herd of about 50 Buffalo that thrive.....dunno what them A&M boys are doing wrong but as PAR35 states...if ya want something to not go the way of the Dinosaur then create a market for it......
Is Beefalo still being marketed ?
Over in New Mexico Al Unser Jr had a small herd...dunno if he's still trying to raise a herd......
bttt
"Since the herd originated in the Texas Panhandle, it is probably the last genetic example of what was called the Southern Plains bison, said Danny Swepston, a state wildlife district leader who oversees the herd."
This is the problem..They are trying to preserve this special link.
Thanks for these pictures. You picked a good time of the year to see Caprock. Were you with a group of people you knew? From where did your tour originate? I got the impression from the pictures that you were part of a group.
No..I just googled and found the pictures I posted on the thread...I was not there and I don't know the hikers.
I think the turkey track ranch up near Adobe Wall's (NE of Stinnett TX) even has about 200 head.........wonder if that herd possible is Bison....
I know a lot of folks here don't have very high regard for "Red Ted" Turner, but his buffalo burgers and steaks are pretty good, and the prices are reasonable.
Turner didn't develop beefalo ........I take it from yer post he's into that market though ?
Excellent example of true conservation.
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