Free-Roaming Bison Offered for 'adoption' to Raise Money to Protect Herd

The Associated Press Published: Nov 24, 2001

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Looking for a wild gift this holiday? The Nature Conservancy has started an Adopt-A-Bison program to raise money for a free-roaming herd on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, about 45 miles north of Tulsa.

For $40, donors will receive personalized adoption certificates with color photos of bison from the herd.

Funds will be used to buy more animals, provide health checks and support general herd management at the nearly 40,000-acre preserve, said Grant Gerondale, spokesman for the conservancy's Oklahoma chapter.

The herd, introduced to the preserve in 1993, has grown from 300 animals to more than 1,600 in eight years, Gerondale said. The group hopes to eventually have 3,000 of the animals, which were hunted nearly to extinction.

America's tallgrass prairie ecosystem once ranged from Minnesota to Texas, spanning more than 14 states and covering 142 million acres. Today, less than 10 percent of the original prairie remains.

---

On the Net:

Nature Conservancy: http://www.nature.org/adoptabison

AP-ES-11-24-01 1514EST

-- Anonymous, November 24, 2001

Answers

When I saw the header, I thought, "Wow! What a litter box you'd need!"

-- Anonymous, November 24, 2001

A fleeting thought of mine when I saw the headline, was could I put one in my fenced in back yard. Years ago, when I heard of seals in trouble because of an oil slick....I thought of adopting some until they were well again....we had a large pool in the back yard and then common sense entered the picture, after discussing it with my husband.

-- Anonymous, November 24, 2001

Maggie, I suppose that you could adopt a bison for your backyard if you lived out in the boonies in S. Dakota or a seal if you lived in FL. Anywhere else, the neighbors might complain. (;

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

Meemur, it was when I lived in Cally when I thought of giving a "get well home" to some seals. The houses where too close to each other, that the barking of the seals would have me on the sh#t list of the neighbors. I had to laugh when I thought of the police being called for disturbance of the peace. :^)

-- Anonymous, November 26, 2001