3 ms·
As far as I know, there's only one group of pure-bred bison. All of the other bison in the U.S. are effectively genetic hybrids between bison and cattle.
by bmitc 3y ago
As far as I know, there's only one group of pure-bred bison. All of the other bison in the U.S. are effectively genetic hybrids between bison and cattle.
- ethbr1 3y agoIt looks like you might be referring to the Texas State Bison Herd. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison#Texas_State_Bison_Herd https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison#Texas_State_B... There were other, pure bred herds (e.g. Yellowstone, Canadian, etc). And as this points out, the remnants of hybridization efforts were minimal, even in the direct Goodnight, Jones, and Bedson herds: >> "These brief experiments form the basis for the controversy surrounding cattle genetic introgression in bison today. A study conducted for her Doctoral Dissertation by Lauren Dobson of Texas A&M University concluded that bison descended from those herds have the equivalent of 1 percent cattle genetic introgression within their genome." https://bisoncentral.com/advantage-item/ranchers-role-in-bison-restoration/ https://bisoncentral.com/advantage-item/ranchers-role-in-bis... At the end of the day, bison didn't take (genetically or economically) to hybridization, as the hybrids were less hardy than pure bred bison.