The calf that could safeguard the future of the Yellowstone bison

The zoo and Colorado State University announced yesterday that the surrogate bison gave birth to a healthy male calf at the zoo on June 20

A purebred Yellowstone bison is living at the Bronx Zoo after scientists were able to successfully implant a genetically pure embryo i nto a commercial bison.

This is great news for the park - as around 40 per cent of the natural herd suffer from brucellosis, which can cause pregnant animals to miscarry, meaning the future of the most world’s genetically-pure breed could be at risk.

The zoo and Colorado State University announced yesterday that the surrogate bison gave birth to a healthy male calf at the zoo on June 20.

The embryo was taken from a Yellowstone bison, kept at the university in October, checked for diseases, and then implanted in the surrogate.

While many bison have been bred with cattle, Yellowstone National Park has one of the world’s largest and most geneticallypure bison herds.

But concern about the disease has prevented the animals from being taken out of the park to reproduce.

Wild bison herds use to roam across American, until humans almost wiped them out in the centuries leading up to the early 20th century.

Many bison have some cattle genes, but Yellowstone’s bison are ‘genetically uninterrupted’, reports PopSci.

Bison enjoy the nature of Yellowstone Park - but up to 40 per cent of the animals are infected with a disease that causes miscarriages

Assuring the species: The young bison is a pure Yellowstone, and is confirmed clear from diseases