Bison calf born

A small bison calf was born late in the afternoon of June 8 at High Chaparral. By that evening, the little calf was already on its feet.

The calf has been named Isch, which means One in the Cree Indian language.

The calf is now roaming with its mother in the enclosure on Indian Island in the park. In addition to the mother, Big Mama, the calf's father and three heifers are also here. Two more calves are expected to be born this year.

Bison facts
The American bison is the largest land-dwelling species native to the Americas. American bison come in two different subspecies: the plains bison called American plains bison (Bison b. bison) and the wood bison called American wood bison (Bison b. athabascae). They are not two different species, but have slightly different lifestyles. Here at High Chaparral , plains bison are kept.

Before the arrival of Europeans, it was estimated that there were up to 60 million free-roaming bison on the continent. Today, there are about 500,000 bison in North America. Today, bison are listed as near threatened on the International Red List of Threatened Species.

The cow is pregnant for about 9 months and usually gives birth to a calf towards the spring when the grass supply is at its best.

Bison are impressively large, weighing an estimated 99-1000 kg. Bulls are heavier than cows, and both cows and bulls have horns.