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99-600: The Yellowstone bison herd roams the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem . The bison herd is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States, estimated in 2020 to comprise 4,800 bison. The bison are American bison of the Plains bison subspecies. Yellowstone National Park may be the only location in the United States where free-ranging bison were never extirpated , since they continued to exist in

198-452: A Lake Malawi cichlid tank with an 11,000-lb., 7-in.-thick glass panel. The third section, focused on the African savanna , featured habitats for a large group of meerkats , a space for the zoo's aardvarks , and an indoor habitat for the giraffes. The fourth and final section simulates African kopje habitats, with klipspringer antelopes hopping along the way. The main outdoor exhibit

297-540: A Greater Yellowstone Coalition leader enlarged that to 20,000,000 acres (80,000 km ). In 1985 the United States House of Representatives Subcommittees on Public Lands and National Parks and Recreation held a joint subcommittee hearing on Greater Yellowstone, resulting in a 1986 report by the Congressional Research Service outlining shortcomings in inter-agency coordination and concluding that

396-563: A camouflaged forest scene with views from both above and eye-level with the animals. The exhibit features a "hot spring", a trademark favorite of the species, which allows them to warm up in the winter and amuse guests. It also functions as a dedicated research station for the macaques. It is the zoo's third exhibit to house primates. The Regenstein African Journey exhibit is a 60,000-square-foot indoor-and-outdoor exhibit which opened in May 2003 on

495-409: A flagship site among conservation groups that promote ecosystem management . The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is one of the world's foremost natural laboratories in landscape ecology and Holocene geology , and is a world-renowned recreational destination. It is also home to the diverse native plants and animals of Yellowstone . Yellowstone National Park boundaries were drawn in 1872 with

594-405: A good long-term data set on the species, but they understand its ecology well enough to project declining future conservation status . A more immediate and serious threat to whitebark pines is an introduced fungal rust disease, White Pine Blister Rust ( Cronartium ribicola ), which is causing heavy mortality in the species. Occasional resistant individuals occur, but in the short to medium term,

693-624: A herd started with founder animals from Yellowstone, the Henry Mountains bison herd , is found on the plains around the Henry Mountains, Utah, as well as in mountain valleys of the Henry Mountains to an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Gray wolves , and grizzly bears are apex predators of bison, but bison meat is not a major component of their diet. Competitive pressure from the other large grazing mammals in Yellowstone may also help limit

792-473: A key component of the ecosystem, providing sustenance for predators. Other significant ungulate species include moose (Alces alces), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), and mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus). The GYE is home to a variety of birds, including iconic species like Bald Eagles , Golden Eagles and Peregrine Falcons . Osprey populations around Yellowstone Lake , have experienced declines, linked to

891-502: A minimum estimate of 236, but biologists think there may be as many as 1,000 bears in the ecosystem. Although the Greater Yellowstone population is relatively close to recovery goals, the plan's definition of recovery is controversial. Thus, even though the population may be stable or possibly increasing in the short term, in the longer term, continued habitat loss , climate change, and increasing human activities may well reverse

990-686: A moat around it, dedicated to the zoo's main gorilla troop. Two additional exhibits—the Strangler Fig Forest and Dry Riverbed Valley—each with mesh netting to secure the animals, can accommodate either chimpanzees or gorillas. Huge glass panels give guests nose-to-nose access with the zoo's apes both in the trees and on the ground. The exhibit also contains the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, which encourages zoo guests to engage in research and scientific development to conserve apes in

1089-521: A new species for the zoo from the tropical coasts of Africa, enabling them to stand the zoo's harsh summers as well as its cold winters. This exhibit would also be fully outdoors and equipped for over a dozen penguins with a behind-the-scenes breeding area. Construction began after the opening of Regenstein Macaque Forest in fall 2014, with Robert and Mayari Pritzker Penguin Cove opening in late 2016. In 2016,

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1188-491: A population may be considered long-term by some, one of the important lessons of Greater Yellowstone management is that even half a century is not long enough to give a full idea of how a species may vary in its occupation of a wild ecosystem. The Yellowstone hot springs are important for their diversity of thermophilic bacteria. These bacteria have been useful in studies of the evolution of photosynthesis and as sources of thermostable enzymes for molecular biology . Although

1287-584: A role as "nature's clean-up crew". One large, lush outdoor habitat contains multiple specimens, including breeding pairs of cinereous vultures and white stork, while two adjacent aviaries contain the zoo's resident bald eagle and the next features a snowy owl next door. A baby vulture was born at the zoo in June 2013 but was abandoned by its parents and had to be hand-reared and reintroduced gradually. The zoo's historic Primate House first opened in 1927, featuring apes and monkeys from different locations and habitats in

1386-525: A series of small, identical barred cages typical of most early zoo exhibits. It became famous for its apes, including a gorilla named Bushman, until the Great Ape House opened. The Primate House's interior was heavily renovated in the early 1990s and it was re-opened as the Helen Brach Primate House in 1992 with eight diorama-style naturalistic exhibits simulating the swamps and rainforests of

1485-408: A severe population decline is expected. Estimates of the decline of quaking aspen ( Populus tremuloides ) on the park's northern range since 1872 range from 50% to 95%. The decline has been linked to multiple stressors, such as defoliation by the forest tent caterpillar ( Malacosoma disstria ), aspen bark beetles ( Trypophloeus populi and Procryphalus mucronatus ), wood-boring beetles such as

1584-575: A significant area of petrified trees; the northeast corner was defined by the watershed of Pebble Creek; the eastern boundary included the headwaters of the Lamar River and part of the watershed of the Yellowstone River. In 1932, President Hoover issued an executive order that added more than 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) between the north boundary and the Yellowstone River, west of Gardiner. These lands provided winter range for elk and other ungulates. By

1683-480: A significant management achievement, does not begin to restore the species' historical abundance. Also, they declined because of invasive lake trout. An aggressive lake trout removal program has caused the cutthroats to rebound. Early accounts of pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana ) in Greater Yellowstone described herds of hundreds seen ranging through most major river valleys . These populations were decimated by 1900, and declines continued among remaining herds. On

1782-707: A special emphasis on researching the behaviors of both species and creating new, naturalistic habitats. In 2003, the book The Ark in the Park: The Story of Lincoln Park Zoo was also published by the University of Illinois Press . The book was written by Mark Rosenthal, Carol Tauber, and Edward Uhlir. In 2010, Lincoln Park Zoo transformed the adjacent South Pond to create the Nature Boardwalk , an ecological habitat designed by Studio Gang Architects that features native wetlands plants and wildlife. In December 2011,

1881-479: A state-of-the-art exhibit with a hot spring, set to open in fall 2014. It was announced in March 2014 that the zoo's Robert R. McCormick Bear Habitat, or "Bear Line", would be torn down and rebuilt with a large and significantly improved habitat for the zoo's lone polar bear, with much more land area for the bears and a behind-the-scenes den for breeding. The new exhibit would also feature a new African penguin habitat,

1980-434: Is a large, expansive African savanna setting just outside the indoor exhibit exit that primarily houses the zoo's giraffes. There is also a large yard for a family of African painted dogs, a hog yard that has been used by both common warthogs and currently red river hogs , and multiple yards for the zoo's black rhinos. While many of these animals cannot be viewed indoors, they have access to indoor habitats year-round. When

2079-488: Is a major conservation advancement. The lack of tolerance for wild bison in most areas outside Yellowstone continues to limit restoration. Large parts of their historic winter ranges are no longer available due to human development and states only allow limited numbers of bison in areas near the park. Initially most of the bison were sent to slaughter with the meat being distributed to participating tribes along with limited hunting. The IBMP plan includes allowing bison to enter

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2178-513: Is a new outdoor African penguin exhibit, where visitors can watch as these tropical penguins dive into the water, with a behind-the-scenes area for hatching chicks and breeding the species. The zoo also offers indoor Penguin Encounters. The exhibit opened to the public in October 2016. Opened in 2014, Macaque Forest is an exhibit allowing guests to connect with a troop of 10–15 Japanese macaques in

2277-732: Is considered to have minimal cattle gene introgression , meaning that there is no evidence of significant hybridization between these bison and cattle. The bison at Yellowstone National Park have become the foundation animals for many other bison herds throughout the United States, such as the Henry Mountains bison herd and (partially) the Wind Cave bison herd , and several groups in the United States and Canada are making efforts to return bison to nature parks or reserves in parts of their previous natural range. Some large tracts of open range and natural habitat have been purchased by private individuals or groups to prepare for bison reintroduction. Officially,

2376-466: Is known to exist in the elk and bison of the Yellowstone ecosystem. State and federal officials were pressured to prevent the spread of the disease as ranchers worry it could lead to Montana losing its brucellosis-free status. Montana state law does not allow the transport of wild bison exposed to brucellosis except to meat processing and research facilities within the state. By 2016, state and federal officials were rounding up most bison that wandered outside

2475-507: Is one of the last remaining large, nearly intact ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of the Earth . It is located within the northern Rocky Mountains , in areas of northwestern Wyoming , southwestern Montana , and eastern Idaho , and is about 22 million acres (89,000 km ). Yellowstone National Park and the Yellowstone Caldera 'hotspot' are within it. The area is

2574-431: Is open or semi-open grasslands, as well as sagebrush grasslands, semi-arid lands, and scrublands. Some lightly wooded areas are also known historically to have supported bison. Bison will also graze in hilly or mountainous areas where the slopes are not steep. Though bison are not particularly known as high altitude animals, members of the Yellowstone bison herd are frequently found at elevations above 8,000 feet (2,400 m) and

2673-487: The Chicago Academy of Sciences , which moved to a new facility in 1999. The Kovler Sea Lion Pool opened the same year after an extensive renovation, and it is now home to the zoo's harbor seals . Regenstein African Journey, a renovation of the zoo's former Large Mammal House, opened in 2003, turning the zoo's largest building from concrete showcases for a few large mammals into a series of naturalistic settings that tell

2772-538: The Lincoln Park Zoo bison herd for Yellowstone. In 1902, a captive herd of 21 Goodnight plains bison was introduced to the park and then moved to the Lamar Valley and managed as livestock until the 1960s, when a policy of natural regulation was adopted by the park. Only a few bull bison traversed outside Yellowstone National Park prior to 1975, but as bison numbers increased, groups of bison began migrating across

2871-783: The Wind Cave bison herd , the Elk Island Nation Park bison herd , and the Wood Buffalo National Park bison herd and subsidiary herds descended from it, in Canada . A landmark study of bison genetics that was performed by James Derr of the Texas A&;M University corroborated this. The Derr study was undertaken in an attempt to determine what genetic problems bison might face as they repopulate former areas, and it noted that bison were faring well, despite their apparent genetic bottleneck . One possible explanation for this might be

2970-466: The poplar borer ( Saperda calcarata ) and the bronze poplar borer ( Agrilus liragus ), fungal disturbances such as those by the Cytospora canker ( Valsa sordida ), and Climate change related stressors. Anecdotal information on grizzly bear abundance dates to the mid-19th century, and administrators have made informal population estimates for more than 70 years. From these sources, ecologists know

3069-548: The "American Buffalo" is classified by the United States Government as a type of cattle, and the government allows private herds to be managed as such. This is a reflection of the characteristics that bison share with cattle. Though the American bison ( Bison bison ) is not only a separate species, but actually in a separate genus from domestic cattle ( Bos primigenius ), it clearly has a lot of genetic compatibility with

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3168-400: The 1970s, the grizzly bear 's ( Ursus arctos ) range in and near the park became the first informal minimum boundary of a theoretical "Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem" that included at least 4,000,000 acres (16,000 km ). Since then, definitions of the greater ecosystem's size have steadily grown larger. A 1994 study listed the size as 19,000,000 acres (76,890 km ), while a 1994 speech by

3267-569: The American mammal. It has a much longer history than the term bison, which was first recorded in 1774. The Bison is considered to be scientifically correct, as a result of standard usage the name "buffalo" is listed in many dictionaries as an acceptable name for American Buffalo or bison. Yellowstone National Park has large areas of alpine meadows and grass prairie and this provides a nearly optimum environment for American bison who live in river valleys, and on prairies and plains. Their typical habitat

3366-495: The Bison Conservation Transfer Program as space allows. While hunting is not allowed within the park, it mainly occurs within an area outside the northern boundary near Gardiner as designated by the state. Removal numbers are decided each year, with tribal and state hunters being allowed a quota. Montana issues hunting permits and 4 tribes have long standing treaty rights to hunt Yellowstone bison. By 2016,

3465-745: The Chicago area to catch images of wildlife, and the public is asked to help identify the animals. The Zoo operates a number of youth-focused programs including a number of year-round camps, facilitated school program field trips, and a number of community engagement initiatives that prioritize the Little Village and North Lawndale communities. Both the Little Village and North Lawndale outreach programs include community gardening programs that focus on creating green spaces in Chicago and on promoting healthy eating habits. Like many other zoos and aquariums nationally, Lincoln Park Zoo adapted many of their programs to

3564-1061: The Gallery and the Ecosystem . The Gallery begins with a large room ringed with terrariums exhibiting reptiles and amphibians. The next part of the Gallery features small mammals in and around a man-made baobab tree trunk. The building continues in the Ecosystem, a geodesic dome 45 feet (14 m) in height that simulates the world's tropical rainforests . The Ecosystem begins with a series of stream exhibits for caimans and otters, and continues with mixed-species exhibits for arboreal species like primates,. Mammals Reptiles Amphibians Fish Birds Invertebrates This popular outdoor exhibit near McCormick Bird House allows visitors to observe powerful birds-of-prey through stunning outdoor aviaries that give them plenty of room to spread their wings or to perch on rocks or tree branches in their enclosures. These exhibits emphasize how birds-of-prey play

3663-537: The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The GYE is home to some of North America's most iconic wildlife. The ecosystem supports the largest free-roaming herds of American bison (Bison bison) on public land, a species central to the region's ecological balance. Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) and gray wolves (Canis lupus) are apex predators that play crucial roles in regulating prey populations. Elk (Cervus canadensis) are abundant and form

3762-564: The Kovler Penguin-Seabird House, which had previously been home to rockhopper , king penguins , common murres and puffins closed down after thirty years at the zoo due to worries about the deteriorating condition of the building, prompting outcry from some Chicago residents. It was soon announced it would be replaced with a newly renovated West Gate, featuring a children's train and an all-new exhibit, Regenstein Macaque Forest, featuring Japanese macaques , or "snow monkeys", in

3861-489: The Kovler Seal Pool is one of oldest exhibits at Lincoln Park Zoo. It was renovated most recently in May 1999 in hopes of creating a habitat that most resembles their natural environment in the wild. There are three main viewing areas—from behind a fence in front of the tank on the main zoo path, an amphitheater-style seating area above the tank on the opposite end, and an underwater viewing gallery where visitors can watch

3960-535: The Stephens Creek Bison Capture Facility where they are sorted by age and sex into different enclosed pens. A blood sample is also taken and they are tested for brucellosis with only about 30% of animals qualifying for the program. Bison that test negative can go into quarantine. Next, testing protocols continue until the animals can be certified as disease free. Finally, assurance testing involves another year in isolation with two more tests before

4059-514: The Yellowstone bison were actually either of the B. b. athabascae ( wood buffalo ) subspecies, or else that they were of an unspecified 'mountain' subspecies. In the study, it was determined that the Wood Buffalo bison were actually cross breeds between plains bison and wood bison, but that their predominant genetic makeup was in fact that of the expected "wood buffalo" ( B. b. athabascae ). Circa winter 1924, Yellowstone hosted about 2,000 bison and

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4158-517: The Zoo announced the Pride of Chicago fundraising campaign, which sought $ 125 million in funding, and lead to the construction of Regenstein Macaque Forest, Robert and Mayari Pritzker Penguin Cove and Walter Family Arctic Tundra, would conclude with a long-awaited $ 30 million renovation of the aging Kovler Lion House as part of the Pride of Chicago fundraising campaign, acknowledging the public perception problems with

4257-549: The Zoo's mission. The facility underwent a dramatic transformation in the 1970s and 1980s, with the additions of many new, naturalistic exhibits. In 1995, the Zoological Society assumed management of the zoo from the Chicago Park District , which is the land owner and became leasee of the Zoo in charge of administration and improvements. Zoo administration is currently housed in the nearby building previously used by

4356-424: The advent of nuclear microsatellite DNA testing, the number of herds that identified to contain cattle genes has increased. DNA from domestic cattle ( Bos taurus ) has been detected in nearly all bison herds examined to date. Significant public bison herds that have minimal cattle gene introgression are the Yellowstone bison herd, the Henry Mountains bison herd (which was started with bison taken from Yellowstone),

4455-467: The animals' natural habitats in the wild. Perhaps its most notable residents are a family of white-cheeked gibbons that have a spacious room inside as well as an outdoor habitat for playing in the warm winter months. The zoo's male and female gibbons gave birth to baby Daxin on August 16, 2013. Crowned lemurs joined the exhibit in October 2013 from the Indianapolis Zoo and a baby lemur was born at

4554-591: The area's essential values were at risk. Federally managed areas within the GYE include: Ten distinct National Wilderness Areas have been established within the GYE's National Forests since 1966, mandating a higher level of habitat protection than the USFS otherwise uses. The GYE also encompasses some privately held and state lands surrounding those managed by the U.S. Government. The Trust for Public Land has protected 67,000 acres (27,000 ha) over about 40 projects in

4653-587: The bison and their offspring for five years on a 12,000-acre fenced section (4,900 ha) of the Flying D ranch. Tribal and state officials signed an agreement in 2012 allowing the transfer of bison that were also in the 2005-2012 pilot study. Sixty-three animals from the Yellowstone quarantine corrals were transferred in March to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes who started a conservation herd at their Fort Peck Reservation. A legal challenge blocked further transfers until

4752-488: The bison be declared endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act with a separate population limit for each of the two herds. They claim hunting, trapping, hazing, capture and slaughter of the bison disproportionately impacted the central interior herd, reducing the size of the herd dramatically during the last two decades. The Fish and Wildlife Service rejected the listing in 2015 and 2019, arguing that

4851-441: The building for the American black bear and the endangered red wolf featuring heavy foliage and a naturalistic stream, allowing visitors to go eye-to-eye with the animals or for the animals to hide in the foliage. Statues of gray wolves and signs encourage guests to practice howling and teach them about wolf pack dynamics. Mammals Reptiles Birds One of the zoo's most popular exhibits since its first iteration in 1879,

4950-587: The commission recognized that the Fort Peck Fish and Game Department had done a good job of managing the bison including the disease testing. In November, 139 of the Yellowstone bison at the Flying D ranch joined the conservation herd at the Fort Peck Reservation. Certification involves a multi-year process including holding animals in fenced pastures near the park boundary. The quarantine program approved by IBMP has three phases. First, bison are trapped at

5049-485: The decades since the IBMP was created, the bison population has ranged between 2,400 and 5,500 animals. There have been no cases of bison transmitting brucellosis directly to cattle, in part due to efforts by federal and state agencies to maintain separation between these animals. The state of Montana now allows bison to occupy some habitat adjacent to the park that was previously off-limits, including year-round in some areas, which

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5148-519: The decrease in Cutthroat Trout. Several bird species act as keystone species within the GYE. For example, the Clark's Nutcracker plays a crucial role in the dispersal of the all-important Whitebark Pine seeds. Ecological management has been most often advanced through concerns over individual species rather than over broader ecological principles. Though 20 or 30 or even 50 years of information on

5247-584: The digital format during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included creating modified versions of their local program offerings, such as running their Artecito program, which connects Little Village families with nature through the arts, in conjunction with the OPEN Center for the Arts through free biweekly programs. The zoo's collection totals nearly 1,100 animals. Redeveloped from the former Robert R. McCormick Bear Habitat in

5346-589: The effects on prey species, the gray wolf's presence also affected the park's grizzly bear population. The bears, emerging from hibernation, chose to scavenge off wolf kills to gain needed energy and fatten up after fasting for months. Dozens of other species have been documented scavenging from wolf kills. Lincoln Park Zoo Lincoln Park Zoo is home to a wide variety of animals. The zoo's exhibits include big cats , polar bears , penguins , gorillas , reptiles , monkeys , and other species totaling about 1,100 animals from some 200 species. The Lincoln Park Zoo

5445-419: The exhibit opened, it was also home to three African bush elephants , but they died, the last one dying at Hogle Zoo in 2005, sparking concerns about the exhibit. It later briefly held Bactrian camels , but it is currently an additional home for the zoo's rhinos. One noted resident of the exhibit was R1 (or Reptile One) the dwarf crocodile, who was seventy years old when he died in 2010, having lived within

5544-572: The exhibit, which had been constrained by its Historic Landmark status during previous renovations, most recently in 1992. The new exhibit opened in late 2021 and focuses squarely on lions as opposed to other big cat species it had previously held, such as tigers . The zoo together with technological help from the Adler Planetarium is aiming to expand its survey of Chicago area wildlife with public assistance at an interactive website, Zooniverse . The zoo has positioned motion sensing cameras in

5643-500: The extension involved mixing the founders with additional bison from another source. A separate study by Wilson and Strobeck, published in Genome , was done to define the relationships between different herds of bison in the United States and Canada, and to determine whether the bison at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada and the Yellowstone bison herd were possibly separate subspecies, and not Plains bison. Some people had suggested that

5742-651: The first plan in 2000. Since 2009, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes , the Inter Tribal Buffalo Council, and the Nez Perce Tribe have participated in the planning. The plan is aimed at: Management is focused on keeping the Yellowstone Bison population at levels that limit migration outside the park. Methods include slaughter and export of excess bison to other suitable habitats. In

5841-458: The herds are not genetically distinct. A judge ruled that the agency applied the wrong standard and failed to address a significant aspect of the question. American Bison once numbered in the millions, perhaps between 25 million and 60 million by some estimates, and they were possibly the most numerous large land animal on earth. However, by the late 1880s, they had been hunted to near extinction throughout North America . The Yellowstone bison herd

5940-475: The intent to include all the known geothermal basins in the region . As landscape ecology considerations were not incorporated into original boundary, revisions were suggested to conform more closely to natural topographic features, such as the ridgeline of the Absaroka Range along the east boundary. In 1929, President Hoover signed the first bill changing the park's boundaries: The northwest corner now included

6039-470: The latter, and American bison can interbreed freely with cattle. Moreover, when they do interbreed, the crossbreeds tend to look very much like purebred bison, so appearance is completely unreliable as a means of determining what is a purebred bison and what is crossbred with cattle. Many ranchers have deliberately crossbred their cattle with bison, and it would also be expected that there could be some natural hybridization in areas where cattle and bison occur in

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6138-699: The north and west boundaries of Yellowstone to expand their winter range and pioneer new territory in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem . Over the years, the National Park Service and states bordering the park have implemented various plans to limit exposure of bison to cattle herds outside the park in the Greater Yellowstone area . Efforts have including hunting, hazing Bison back into the park, vaccinations and exporting excess Bison to other locations. Park and state wildlife officials went to great lengths to prevent bison from mixing with cattle. Brucellosis

6237-634: The north entrance near Gardiner, Montana through the Blacktail Plateau and into the Lamar Valley . The central interior herd, which numbers approximately 1400 individuals, ranges from the Madison River valley into the Hayden Valley and Upper and Lower Geyser Basins . The Buffalo Field Campaign and Western Watersheds Project filed a petition in 2014 that contends that these herds are two separate groups and are genetically distinct. They asked that

6336-402: The number of bison in the herd, but this is not considered to have had a significant effect on bison numbers. Disease, including various viruses, parasites and brucellosis , has a greater effect on bison population. The Yellowstone bison herd is divided into two sub-herds that are somewhat isolated from each other. The northern range herd which numbers approximately 2,300 individuals ranges from

6435-547: The park boundaries. Intense controversy grew between environmentalists, livestock interests and agency managers. During harsh winters, bison found convenient grazing on several U.S. Forest Service allotments that were used for cattle in the summer. In 1995, the Montana state legislature designated Yellowstone bison as a species in need of disease management and the state sued the National Park Service for allowing bison to leave

6534-403: The park every winter with up to 900 being removed annually. Some were captured and shipped to slaughter while others were shot by hunters or state agents. Montana managed a state-licensed hunt for bison that left the park from 1985 to 1991 but the number of bison migrating outside of the park continued to increase, prompting the National Park Service to develop management plans to control bison near

6633-617: The park's northern range, pronghorn declined from 500 to 700 in the 1930s to about 122 in 1968. By 1992 the herd had increased to 536. The park is a commonly cited example of apex predators affecting an ecosystem through a trophic cascade . After the reintroduction of the gray wolf in 1995, researchers noticed drastic changes occurring. Elk , the primary prey of the gray wolf, became less abundant and changed their behavior, freeing riparian zones from constant grazing. The respite allowed willows and aspens to grow, creating habitat for beaver , moose , and scores of other species. In addition to

6732-544: The park, including, a puma , two elk , three wolves , four eagles , and eight peacock . In 1874, a bear cub from the Philadelphia Zoo was the first animal purchased by the zoo, for US$ 10. The bear became quite adept at escaping from its home and could frequently be found roaming Lincoln Park at night. In 1884, reportedly the first American bison born in captivity was born at the Lincoln Park Zoo. At this time,

6831-642: The park. After five years of litigation and mediation, the state of Montana and the federal government developed the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) to guide the management of bison in and around Yellowstone. The Interagency Bison Management Plan is a cooperative, multi-agency effort that guides the management of bison and brucellosis in and around Yellowstone National Park. The National Park Service, USDA-Forest Service, USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Montana Department of Livestock and Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks adopted

6930-402: The popular North American river otters swim gracefully underwater at eye-level in their outdoor habitats, with educational displays about how beavers build dams. Outside the building there are many areas where local birds nest. The building is surrounded by small outdoor viewing areas for the same otter and beaver habitats. There are two significantly larger exhibits surrounding the path around

7029-449: The population had grown to approximately 5,500 animals. In the winters of 2016/2017 and 2019/2020 the park service reduced the herd size by at least 900 animals. A 2022/2023 hunt culled over 1,100 individuals, leading to criticism over the necessity of such a hunt. Yellowstone bison are exceptional because they comprise the nation's largest bison population on public land. Developing a quarantine program that complied with Montana state law

7128-639: The quarantine period is finished. The first two phases currently must be done in a supervised area in the vicinity of the park. APHIS and the Montana Department of Livestock established the final structural specifications and biosecurity requirements for quarantine facilities in June 2017. Two pens in a Yellowstone bison trap were made into quarantine corrals with two layers of fencing in 2017. The two facilities are located at Stephens Creek and Corwin Springs . Quarantine facilities are managed by APHIS who coordinates

7227-486: The same range. Since cattle and bison eat similar food and tolerate similar conditions, they have often been in the same range together in the past, and opportunity for cross breeding may sometimes have been common. In recent decades, tests were developed to determine the source of mitochondrial DNA in cattle and bison, and it was found that most private 'buffalo' herds were actually crossbred with cattle, and even most state and federal buffalo herds had some cattle DNA. With

7326-513: The seals glide through the water. The zoo's pinnipeds are trained voluntarily twice a day, and given fish treats as rewards. Though multiple species of seal and sea lion have lived in the pool together in the past, since May 2013 it has been home only to gray and harbor seals. The Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House is a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m ) indoor exhibit that opened in 1997 and houses small animals in two main areas:

7425-495: The site of the zoo's former Regenstein Large Mammal House. It simulates four distinct habitats from the African continent. Large skylights permit natural light into the indoor area, and guests are greeted quickly by monkeys in a rainforest setting as they enter Africa . The second section focuses on African rivers , with massive glass panels for hybrid land/water exhibits for West African dwarf crocodiles, pygmy hippos, and

7524-461: The small amount of domestic cattle genes that are now in most bison populations, though this is not the only possible explanation for bison success. In the study, cattle genes were also found in small amounts throughout most herds. "The hybridization experiments conducted by some of the owners of the five foundation herds of the late 1800s, have left a legacy of a small amount of cattle genetics in many of our existing bison herds." He also said, "All of

7623-495: The smell of sulfur is common and there are some sulfur fixing cyanobacteria , it has been found that hydrogen is being used as an energy source by extremophile microbes . Among native plants of the GYE, whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis ) is a species of special interest, in large part because of its seasonal importance to grizzly bears, but also because its distribution could be dramatically reduced by relatively minor global warming . In this case, researchers do not have

7722-474: The south end of the main zoo, is an oval-shaped series of large grassland exhibits that house the zoo's diverse hoofstock and miscellaneous animals. During construction on Regenstein African Journey, it held the zoo's future Grant's gazelle collection. The Antelope & Zebra Area has historically held several species, including the Arabian oryx , as part of the animals' complex Species Survival Plan, and briefly

7821-465: The species had been hunted almost to extinction in the wild—in 1896, the United States government purchased one bull and seven cows from the Zoo's bison herd to send to Yellowstone National Park to assist in the species' revival. From 1888 to 1919 the director of the Lincoln Park Zoo was the flamboyant Cy DeVry , who organized the collection, built many new structures, and obtained the zoo's first elephant and monkeys. A new Lion House opened in 1912. It

7920-399: The species was common in Greater Yellowstone when Europeans arrived and that the population was not isolated before the 1930s, but is now. Researchers do not know if bears were more or less common than now. A 1959-1970 bear study suggested a grizzly bear population size of about 176, later revised to about 229. Later estimates have ranged as low as 136 and as high as 540; the most recent is

8019-521: The state owned bison herds tested (except for possibly one) contain animals with domestic cattle mtDNA." It appears that the one state herd that had no cattle genes was the Henry Mountains bison herd in the Henry Mountains of Utah, which were descended from transplanted animals from Yellowstone Park. It is unknown if the Book Cliffs extension of this herd in Central Utah is also free of hybridization;

8118-522: The state supreme court ruled in June 2013 that the Montana law in question did not apply to tribal lands. The state was asked to move the bison by November 2014 that been regularly tested for brucellosis while being quarantined on behalf of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks at the Bozeman-area ranch owned by Ted Turner. In October, the commission decided to move the animals to the Fort Peck Reservation as

8217-467: The story of the wildlife of the African continent, welcoming the return of the zoo's African elephants and giraffes as well as new additions such as the aardvark , ostrich , and African wild dog . Two years later, the zoo renovated its Great Ape House, opening the Regenstein Center for African Apes, which focused on the zoo's troops of common chimpanzees and western lowland gorillas , putting

8316-617: The transfers with the state of Montana and the Fort Peck tribes. The final phase of assurance testing can be performed at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana. During the revision of the Bison Management at Yellowstone National Park by the National Park Service, it was expected that the use of the bison conservation transfer program to restore bison to Tribal lands would be expand. The Yellowstone bison herd

8415-499: The trend. Yellowstone cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri ) have suffered considerable declines since European settlement, but recently began flourishing in some areas. Especially in Yellowstone Lake itself, long-term records indicate an almost remarkable restoration of robust populations from only three decades ago when the numbers of this fish were depleted because of excessive harvest. Its current recovery, though

8514-462: The whole population was herded together to appear in a stampede scene for The Thundering Herd , a 1925 Paramount Pictures adaptation of a Zane Grey novel. (The 2,000 number was very possibly a publicist's exaggeration; in September 1925, The New York Times reported there were about 800 animals in the Yellowstone herd.) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE)

8613-618: The wild and were not reintroduced. Bison are distantly related to the two "true buffalo", the Asian water buffalo and the African buffalo . " Bison " is a Greek word meaning ox -like animal, while "buffalo" originated with the French fur trappers who called these massive beasts bœufs , meaning ox or bullock. The term "buffalo", dates to 1635 in North American usage when the term was first recorded for

8712-460: The wild. Notable residents of this exhibit include Kwan, the current silverback in the zoo's gorilla troupe who appeared in the film Return to Me as Sidney, a chimpanzee named Optimus Prime, after the fictional character of the same name , and formerly Keo, the oldest male chimpanzee in a North American zoo at the time of his death in September 2013 at fifty-five. Custom-made stuffed animals of Kwan and Optimus in their likenesses are available in

8811-568: The zoo on April 14, 2014. One of the zoo's most historic buildings, the McCormick Bird House was first designed in 1904 under Cyrus DeVry, the zoo's original director. It has been redesigned multiple times, most recently in 1991, and is currently home to multiple habitats recreating the tropics , savanna, sea shore , desert , wetlands , and other biomes, with a tropical free-flight aviary allowing guests to become immersed with perching and aquatic birds without fences or glass. Some of

8910-991: The zoo's Reptile House (now Park Place Café), the Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House, and finally, Regenstein African Journey throughout his life. Mammals Reptiles Birds Invertebrates Lincoln Park Zoo's dedication to primate research continued when the Lester E. Fisher Great Ape House was closed and rebuilt with a new focus on the two African ape species, the chimpanzee and western lowland gorilla . The new center, opened in 2005, has over 29,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living space for three ape troops, featuring dozens of trees, artificial vines, real and simulated bamboo , as well as skylights, waterfalls , moats, heated logs, and termite mounds for chimpanzees to illustrate their knowledge of tools to 'fish' for termites in their mounds. The exhibit has three spacious habitats—the 12,000-square-foot Kovler Gorilla Bamboo Forest, an open-air habitat with

9009-609: The zoo's Wild Things gift shop. The new Pritzker Family Children's Zoo, which opened in 2004, features a number of native eastern American wildlife, and lets visitors of all ages connect with the wild creatures in our own backyard and engages them to think about how species survive in the wilderness. Small amphibians and reptiles are featured in a small indoor exhibit, along with a leaf-themed climber play area for youngsters designed by Tom Luckey , with slightly larger indoor exhibits for birds and reptiles and large glass windows on each end so guests young and old can watch American beavers and

9108-501: The zoo's most notable birds include the famous laughing kookaburra in the scrub display, multiple scarlet ibis specimens in its swamp display and the Bali myna , a critically endangered bird that Lincoln Park Zoo breeds, while also maintaining the species' studbook . Thirty-one mynahs have been born at the zoo since 1972, with the most recent set of chicks being born in mid-2012. The zoo's four-acre Camel & Zebra Area, built in 1982 on

9207-401: The zoo's northeast corner, Walter Family Arctic Tundra is a new exhibit for the zoo's polar bears , larger than the previous habitat with more land for the bears to roam on; instead of strict rockwork, there is natural grass, a new underwater viewing area, a maternity den, and enough space to support a small breeding family of bears. Linked to the nearby Regenstein African Journey, Penguin Cove

9306-620: The zoo's outgoing director, and the original Primate House was later renovated and reopened in 1992 as the Helen Brach Primate House, featuring more naturalistic settings. Marlin Perkins , who gained fame as the host of the television program Zoo Parade , and later Wild Kingdom , was director of the zoo from 1944 until 1962. He created and recruited a citizens group, the Lincoln Park Zoological Society, to support

9405-485: Was critical to getting brucellosis-free animals from Yellowstone to conservation herds. Quarantine was talked about in the 1990s during the negotiations on the IBMP. During 2005–2012, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) developed and verified procedures for identifying Yellowstone bison that don't have brucellosis. Quarantine worked as bison that repeatedly tested negative for the disease stayed that way and could be certified as brucellosis-free. The initial plan

9504-460: Was for the bison that completed the pilot program to be moved to public or tribal lands but the state was not ready to approve any of the proposed locations in 2010. After Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer invited Ted Turner to submit an offer to care for the animals, Turner Enterprises Inc. reached an agreement in February with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission to care for

9603-450: Was later renovated and reopened in 1990. The Primate House opened in 1927, and it was known for housing a popular gorilla named Bushman (1931–1951), one of the only gorillas in a U. S. zoo at the time. From 1920 until a Zoo expansion in 1994, the 1893 World's Fair Viking ship was located at the zoo. The zoo's great apes were moved to the Lester E. Fisher Great Ape House in 1976, named for

9702-638: Was long home to a burr oak tree which was estimated to more than 250 years old. The tree was cut down on May 2, 2023, due to poor health. Thirty-six scions of the tree were grafted onto root stock and are growing at the Morton Arboretum . The zoo was founded in 1868, when the Lincoln Park Commissioners were given a gift of two pairs of swans by Central Park 's Board of Commissioners in New York City . Other animals were soon donated to

9801-466: Was the last free-ranging bison herd in the United States being the only place where bison were not extirpated . The Yellowstone bison herd is descended from a remnant population of 23 individual bison that survived the mass slaughter of the 19th century in the Pelican Valley of Yellowstone Park. To assist in the species' revival, in 1896 the United States government obtained one bull and seven cows from

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