The Bison of San Francisco

My sister who lives in San Francisco had first stumbled across the bison paddock one day while taking a shortcut through Golden Gate Park and was surprisingly confused to find them there. I had never seen one up close before so when she shared her latest discovery with me, I just knew we had to go and visit them together.

It was a cool and overcast day – misleadingly rainy at first due to the afternoon fog that had begun to roll in. But there they were.  From a distance we watched the six bison quietly munching away; iconic animals of the heartland.

San Francisco’s bison paddock was first set up in Golden Gate Park in 1899 at the brink of their extinction.  And today, the San Francisco Zoo which helps to take care of the paddock, also runs a breeding program there.

Background

Over 500 years ago, some 50 million bison once roamed across the U.S. and Canada. But as early settlers moved westward in their exploration of new frontiers, bison were hunted on a large-scale for their fur and meat eventually leading to their drastic decline. By 1900, it was estimated that only about 1,000 bison remained. Their story of recovery is truly a remarkable one.  The past century alone has seen bison numbers grow to almost 300,000 through the support of both federal and private conservation efforts.

Every now and then I still ask my sister how the bison of San Francisco are doing and like her postcard to me she replies:

The bison await thee…