Although it is impossible to know the genetic variation of the pre-slaughter herds, it is possible to more closely define the range of genetic variabilities today. This is done through genetic testing. Stormont Laboratories of Woodland, California, works with ranchers to determine the genetic makeup of their herds through blood testing. The North American Bison Registry, founded in 1972, also strives to establish bison bloodlines. The registry was established for the purpose of ensuring the purity of the breed, verifying parentage so that superior bloodlines can be identified, and encouraging the genetic propagation of exceptional stock for breeding programs.
The genetic codes of herds today come from the few buffalo that were still alive at the end of the nineteenth century. It is impossible to increase the quantity of genes inherited from these individuals, but through controlled breeding the number of genetic combinations can be increased.
Virtually all bison now live in managed environments, whether on private ranches or on public park lands. Even at Yellowstone National Park, the bison are not completely free-ranging, but are managed in order to ensure the genetic diversity of the herds. The animals' movements from pasture to pasture are controlled and the size and makeup of the herds are monitored. This is usually accomplished by limiting the breeding opportunities. In ranching, bison herds are managed to produce the most desirable characteristics, whether the goal be genetic diversity or juicier steaks.
The task for today's scientists is to determine the range of genetic diversity within current bison herds. This information will lead to even greater diversity through new genetic combinations. Genetic diversity is vital to all species because it provides a natural protection against disease and ensures the long-term viability of the species. As the number of bison grows, so do the possible genetic combinations.
So we are back to the question of the rarity of the white buffalo. In the vast herds that once roamed the Great Plains, the instances of white buffalo were rare enough that the Indians worshiped it. Traders also recognized the value and rarity of the white hide. Most of these buffalo were probably albino, a more likely genetic combination than that of a non-albino white buffalo.
Within a blink of an eye in human history, the great herds were nearly wiped out, reduced from forty million to fewer than a thousand animals within a span of two centuries with most of the kill-off occurring during the final twenty years. In the tiny gene pool that remained was a smaller chance for the genetic combination that would produce the rare albino bison. And smaller still was the chance of the genetic combination that would produce a non-albino white buffalo. Yet on the Heiders' ranch, into their herd of just fourteen buffalo, a white calf with brown eyes was born.
How rare is the white buffalo? Very.
CHAPTER FIVE: BISON RANCHING IN THE NEW WEST
In 1887, zoologist and noted buffalo authority William T. Hornaday wrote about the impending extinction of the bison: "The wild buffalo is practically gone forever, and in a few more years, when the whitened bones of the last bleaching skeleton shall have been picked up and shipped East for commercial uses, nothing will remain of him save his old, well-worn trails along the water-courses, a few museum specimens, and the regret of his fate." This dire prediction ignited public sentiment, particularly in the East, to save the great icons of the West.
Hornaday served as the first president of the American Bison Society, an organization instrumental in buying rangeland as protected habitat for bison. The membership was composed of a small group of dedicated individuals, mostly Easterners who, having read newspaper accounts of the great slaughter that was taking place in the West, were determined to save the bison from extinction. The ABS raised funds, wrote letters, and lobbied the United States Congress.
The emerging conservation movement prompted the legislation to protect the animals. Poaching had become a problem in Yellowstone National Park, where a small remnant herd was supposedly protected. However, it was more profitable to kill the bison and pay the poaching fine. Laws were passed that significantly raised the fine for poaching.
Through the efforts of the ABS and a growing conservation movement, land was set aside specifically for the bison when the National Bison Range was established in western Montana in 1908. The ABS procured breeding animals to stock the new range and to replenish the dwindling herds at Yellowstone. Canada also put aside parkland where the great animals could roam freely without danger of being hunted. Although the task of building the few remaining herds to sustainable and genetically diverse populations was still to come, the buffalo had been saved from extinction.
Public concern over the future of the bison was a key factor in the conservation movement evident at the end of the nineteenth century. There was a growing awareness that the great untamed West was vanishing and, along with it, species and habitats that were an integral part of the national heritage. Early conservationists played an important role in saving the bison. So too did early bison ranchers.
Many colorful characters were associated with the early days of bison ranching. Charles Goodnight was a famous Texas cattle rancher who started building a buffalo herd in the late 1800s. Texas was one of the few places where large numbers of buffalo still roamed freely in the 1860s and 1870s. Just a few years after the end of the Civil War, Goodnight began gathering calves to make a herd.
One technique that proved successful for Goodnight was to chase a mother buffalo and her calf. By maneuvering his horse between the two animals, he could separate them by some distance. The calf would then follow him back to the ranch, where an accommodating cow provided milk for the orphan bison.
Goodnight and his wife both felt that the demise of the buffalo would be a terrible loss for the country, and this was certainly a part of his motivation. He also felt that there was money to be made, and he tried a number of creative angles to turn a profit.
Because buffalo were known to have unpredictable dispositions a fact that often proved dangerous to man and horse alike Goodnight reasoned that he could temper the buffalo by crossbreeding them with cattle. Like any good rancher, he knew that crossing two related species with different characteristics would result in a hybrid with the characteristics of both. He was trying to get the best combination of behavior, size, and conformation, but more often than not, Goodnight's experiments failed, instead producing bad-tempered cows and sterile bulls. There wasn't much of a market for either of these.