Bison herds at risk

(KNBN) Small federally managed bison herds are facing an issue which if not fixed, could lead to extinction. The issue at hand, a lack of genetic diversity.

The National Park Service and the Department of Interior teamed up to do a study on bison. The analysis showed that bison are becoming less genetically diverse.

The lack of diversity comes from interbreeding among the bison. This is happening because many of the organizations that fall under the Department of Interior isolate their herds.

“Some of the research that we found says that just swapping a few animals every five to 10 years would be enough to really help us conserve those genetics long term,” says Greg Schroeder, the chief of resources at Wind Cave National Park.

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