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{{Short description|
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
[[File:Catalina_Bison.jpg|thumb|Bison on Catalina Island]]
The '''Catalina Island bison herd''' is a small group of introduced [[American Bison|American bison]] living on [[Santa Catalina Island
== History ==
Registered as privately
AllAboutBison.com, citing
{{Blockquote|text=The contingent now bound for Hollywood will be active in completing this feature. When this is completed they will be released on Catalina Island.<ref name="1924shipping" />}}
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Other animals culled that year went to cities, game preserves, forests and private estates, plus a pair to [[Flo Zeigfield]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Emporia Gazette 11 Dec 1924, page Page 4 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/11770940/ |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> Except for shipping and handling in the form of freight fees, the bison were free upon request, although supplies ''were'' limited.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Daily Sentinel 11 Aug 1924, page 1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/535934446/ |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>
A 1949 report on a bison roundup on the island claimed that it was in "1924, I think" that a film company left behind 13 "bulls and stags" in [[Skull Canyon]]. In 1934, Wrigley{{Efn|[[William Wrigley Jr.]] died in 1932 so this would presumably be [[Philip K. Wrigley]]}} and his ranch staff bought 17 bison ("mostly cows") from Colorado. Five were sold to a resort in Arizona, and the other 12 were sent on the [[Los Angeles Stockyards]] and then shipped to the island by steamer.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|165940032}} |last1=Dredge
A 1961 report in ''Sports Illustrated'' stated, "Buffalo (nobody calls them bison) roam the island in two herds. The first was left there 30-odd years ago after the filming of a western. The second was introduced a few years later in hopes of supplementing the original, but the two herds refused to mingle."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=A LOCAL SOUTH SEAS ISLE
== Ecology and management ==
The bison herd is maintained and monitored by the [[Catalina Island Conservancy]]. Controlling the bison population is important for the island's ecological health.{{r|latimesbisonpill}} Bison are not native to Catalina Island. Santa Catalina Island Conservancy makes sure that the number of bison on the island does not exceed the [[carrying capacity]]. In 2003, a study was conducted on the bison herd to estimate the carrying capacity of bison on several zones that the bison spend the most time in. The study developed options to prevent the bison from affecting native species such as restricting bison to one or more zones or to get rid of all the bison from the island.<ref name=":0" /> The study found the bison's shaggy coats carry imported plants such as fennel which disrupt [[endemic species]] like [[St. Catherine's lace]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cengel |first=Katya |last2= |first2= |date=September 2022 |title=The Uneasy Future of Catalina Island's Wild Bison |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/uneasy-future-catalina-island-wild-bison-180980559/ |access-date=2022-08-26 |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>
The 2003 study determined that a herd of between 150 and 200 would be good for the bison, and less ecologically damaging for the island. In the past, bison were routinely removed and sent to the mainland to auction.<ref name="latimesbisonpill" /> In 2004, the Conservancy partnered with the [[Morongo Band of Mission Indians]], the [[Tongva people|Tongva]] (thought to be Catalina's original inhabitants some 7,000 years ago), and the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] tribe on the [[Rosebud Indian Reservation|Rosebud Reservation]] in [[South Dakota]]. A hundred bison were relocated to the [[Great Plains]].{{r|AP 2007-09-21}}
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Biologists found that the bison [[Introgression|have genes from cattle]] in their ancestry in 2007. They also found that they have a smaller size, different length of legs, jaw length overbite, low fertility, and behavioral problems (such as punctuated walking in tight circles).<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 17573784 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2052.2007.01614.x | volume=38|issue=4|date=2007 | title=Detection of mitochondrial DNA from domestic cattle in bison on Santa Catalina Island | journal=Animal Genetics | pages=410–2 | last1 = Vogel | first1 = AB | last2 = Tenggardjaja | first2 = K | last3 = Edmands | first3 = S | last4 = Halbert | first4 = ND | last5 = Derr | first5 = JN | last6 = Hedgecock | first6 = D}}</ref><ref name="AP 2007-09-21">{{cite news|last=Chang|first=Alicia|title =Study: Catalina bison aren't purebred|work=USA Today| agency =Associated Press|date=September 21, 2007| url =https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-09-21-3401087937_x.htm|accessdate =March 14, 2008 }}</ref>
Beginning in 2009, the herd was given animal birth control to maintain the population at around 150 animals.<ref name="latimesbisonpill">{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-catalina-bison20-2009nov20,0,1351086.story|title=Catalina bison going on birth control|first=Louis |last=Sahagun|date=2009-11-20|work=Los Angeles
== Bison-human interaction ==
[[File:American Bison (Bison bison) Catalina (2) 04.jpg|thumb|American Bison (Bison bison), Catalina]]
On August 26, 2015, a contract worker from American Conservation Experience was injured by a bison while working near Tower Peak on Catalina Island.<ref name="latimesbisongoresworker">{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bison-gores-worker-on-catalina-island-20150826-story.html|title=Bison attacks man taking photos on Catalina Island|author=Ruben Vives|date=2015-08-26|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2020-06-13}}</ref> On February 17, 2018, a man camping at the Little Harbor Campground was gored by a bison.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-02-18|title=Man gored by bison on Catalina Island|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2018/02/17/man-gored-by-wild-buffalo-on-catalina-island/|access-date=2020-11-04|work=Orange County Register|language=en-US}}</ref>
== See also==
* [[Conservation of American bison]]
* [[Catalina Bird Park]]
* [[Camp Pendleton bison herd]]
== Notes ==
{{Noteslist}}
==References==
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[[Category:Santa Catalina Island (California)]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Channel Islands of California]]
[[Category:
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