Baby bison born at Wanuskewin – a first in nearly 150 years

A baby bison was born at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. The new edition was born on Earth Day, Wednesday. The last time a bison was born on Wanuskewin land was before 1876.

A group of 11 bison, made up of six calves from Grassland National Park near Val Marie and five bison from South Dakota – one bull and four females – were unveiled at Wanuskewin Heritage Park last December. This is the first calf to be born from the herd and the CEO of Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Darlene Brander is thrilled.

“When you think about today’s environment, we’re in the midst of a pandemic, and a lot of us are working from home and it’s a whole different world. So, when you hear the news of this baby bison being born, it gives you a ray of hope, fills you with some joy and it makes you look toward the future,” she said. “And the baby was born on Earth Day – how significant is that?”

She says people have asked about a name for the little female calf, but it will go without a name because they want to observe directions from the elders.

“We talked to the elders about that and whether or not we should name the bison and they said the bison are our brothers and sisters and it’s not really up to us to name them,” she said.

There could be more little ones on the way. When the herd arrived last December, there were four pregnant females. Brander says the elders have told them not to count their chickens before they hatch, or the baby bison before they are born.

“As the baby bison are born, we will make the announcements.”

Wanuskewin is included in phase 4 of the province’s re-open plan and Brander says they are looking forward to showing off the little bison and the rest of the herd to everyone.