Mexico reintroduces the American bison 100 years after its disappearance

Herd of bison in the Maderas de El Carmen Protected Natural Area, in the State of Coahuila. CEMEX

The wide plains of the State of Coahuila - located in the northwest of the country - these days attract the attention of Mexicans for the beauty of their fields whitened by snow, but also because an old inhabitant of these regions has once again grazed free: the The American bison, the largest land mammal in America, has been successfully reintroduced by environmental authorities, 100 years after its extermination due to indiscriminate hunting and the destruction of its habitat.

The animal, also known as buffalo, was the king of the wide fields of northern Mexico and the plains of the United States and Canada, where they grazed in huge herds.

300 years ago, according to the National Commission for Protected Natural Areas (Conanp), there were between 30 and 60 million bison in North American territory, but “by 1880, unfortunately, the population was reduced to just over 1,000 individuals, due to the destruction and fragmentation of grasslands, disease and hunting ”.

Thanks to a joint project that involved environmental authorities, universities, scientists and with the support of the United States National Park Service, the huge mammals once again grazed on Mexican territory.

The project to reintroduce the American bison began in November 2009, when a first herd of 23 buffalo was released from the Wind Cave National Park - located in South Dakota (United States) - as part of a collaboration between Mexico and the United States to recover the species, which in 2016 President Barack Obama declared as the First National Mammal.

From Conanp they explain that this first herd was introduced into the Janos Biosphere Reserve, in the State of Chihuahua, with the hope that they would repopulate their former territories.

María Luisa Albores, head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), reported triumphantly this Thursday through her Twitter account and showing images of animals grazing in the snowy fields, that a second herd of American bison, introduced Last year, it has managed to settle in Coahuila, demonstrating the success of the program to recover the species.

This second herd is of 19 animals, which join the 200 that already populate northern Mexico.

"The establishment of herds in Mexico contributes significantly to the recovery of the species on a continental scale and is an example of success in the recovery of species at risk through the close collaboration of various actors in society", they explain from Conanp.

The bison is a relatively calm animal, which spends its days eating grasslands, although it is also an agile mammal, capable of running at about 60 kilometers per hour.

Despite the placidity with which they roam the fields, he is a giant who can intimidate with his more than 1.60 meters in height and a weight that can exceed 1,000 kilograms.

In times of jealousy, the males can get involved in tough confrontations with goring by the females of the herd.

It was an important source of food and furs for the native peoples of North America, whose culture and survival were linked to this animal.

The historian Andrew C. Isenberg, quoted by the American magazine

, explains in his book

, that the slaughter of these mammals began in the decade of the seventies of the nineteenth century, when the animals were hunted by their furs for use in new factories opening across the United States.

The animal's bones were also used to make fertilizers.

For the US authorities, Isenberg says, the elimination of the buffalo was "a triumph of civilization over savagery."

Despite the success of the program to repopulate the northern plains with these mammals, Mexican authorities admit that the bison is still an endangered species.

The main threats that put them at risk are the expansion of the agricultural frontier and hunting, as well as the lack of incentives for ranchers in the northern states of the country to be encouraged to raise and care for them.

However, Secretary Albores was satisfied this Thursday with what was achieved, posting on her Twitter account photos of the animals grazing peacefully in herds in the beautiful fields silvered by the snow in Coahuila.