Track 7—Inside the Bison Range

     Somewhere in this pasture are 50 or more American Bison.  When the first members of the herd arrived in 1995, they had been missing from the Iowa prairie since the 1860.s. The bison played an important role in the prairie ecosystem that was rapidly becoming farmland. Bison distributed seeds by digestion and spread them as they clung to their fur; they created wallows which attracted birds and served as incubators for amphibians. Settlers brought with them other grazers (cows, sheep, and horses), but none could fill the bison-sized hole left by extinction.

     Another animal reintroduced to Iowa is the elk. The refuge’s population is around 20 depending on the time of year. The Rocky Mountain Elk are replacements for Eastern Elk. The last Eastern Elk was shot in Pennsylvania in 1877, 1871 for Iowa. These stoic animals had once ranged from the plains to the east coast. They were larger than Rocky Mountain Elk, a bull (male) could weigh 1000 lbs. with an antler spread of six feet.