Bison herds are returning to northern Mexico

“Conservationists are reestablishing bison herds in northern Mexico….the effort began in 2009, when 23 bison were brought from South Dakota to establish a conservation herd in Chihuahua. That population has since grown large enough to seed additional herds, including two in the state of Coahuila and one in Sonora,” notes Human Progress.

Yucatán Magazine reports that a “species lost for over a century is once again shaping northern Mexico’s landscape. The American bison, a species that once roamed across vast stretches of northern Mexico, has been reintroduced to parts of its historical range after being hunted to near extinction in the late 19th century. What began as a single conservation herd in Chihuahua has grown into a multi-state recovery effort that is now showing measurable ecological results.”

In Sonora, “Conservation bison were recently introduced into the Cuenca Los Ojos nature preserve along the U.S.–Mexico border.”

In Chihuahua, “The pioneering reintroduction began at the Janos Biosphere Reserve (at Rancho El Uno) in 2009, which now serves as the primary source herd for other regions in Mexico.”

In Coahuila, “Herds have been established at the El Carmen nature reserve and El Santuario Ecological Reserve near Cuatro Ciénegas.”

Bison are also making a comeback in Europe. “Projects across Europe have already shown how bison can thrive. In the 1920s, there were just 54 European bison, all in captive areas, after intense hunting over millennia, but thanks to rewilding efforts there are now around 10,000″ bison in Europe, “mostly in Russia and Belarus, where there is more space for bison to roam.”

But bison are being introduced even to much more densely-populated regions, like southeast England. “In July 2022, three female European bison from Ireland and Scotland were released into this countryside in Kent, in southeast England…Their natural behaviors include debarking trees and dustbathing (i.e. rolling around on the ground), which create and maintain diverse habitats for all kinds of fauna and flora.”