Yellowstone Had 23 Pure Bison Left, What a DNA Test Found 120 Years Later Was Impossible

Yellowstone's bison are called the purest on Earth.

In 2022, a DNA test proved that wasn't quite true, and the reason traces back to the 23 animals that saved the entire species.

This is the story of the bison's near-extinction, the rescue almost nobody talks about, and the genetic secret hiding in every herd in North America.

Sources:

• Nature - Genomic evaluation of hybridization in historic and modern North American Bison (Bison bison)

• Texas A&M - New Research Documents Domestic Cattle Genetics In Modern Bison Herds

• NPS - History of Bison Management in Yellowstone

• Greater Yellowstone Coalition - Restoring Yellowstone Bison

• Yellowstone Forever - Finding a Future for Yellowstone’s Bison

• CSKT - The history of The Bison Range

• American Prairie - Bison Reintroduction Timeline

• Montana Freep Press - Fort Peck’s vision for ‘endless’ buffalo prairie Montana