Courtesy: WWF
BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, South Dakota — For the first time in nearly 150 years, a group of bison roams the snowy plains and rolling hills of Badlands National Park in South Dakota.
The World Wildlife Fund released video over the weekend showing the reintroduction of four bison into the snow-covered park.
“Bison are North America’s largest and most iconic mammal, and WWF is thrilled to be part of an effort to create the second-largest herd in the National Park system,” Martha Kauffman, managing director of WWF’s Northern Great Plains program, said in a statement.
The WWF raised $750,000 to build 43 miles of new fence to extend the animal’s habitat in the park by over 20,000 acres.
According to the National Park Service, the last wild bison roamed Badlands National Park in 1877. Rangers introduced a herd in 1963, but visitors rarely saw them because of their limited range. The new fence greatly expands their grazing area.