Lincoln Highway's Baby Bison in Illinois: First Born Wild in Nearly Two Centuries

From the April 9, 2015, Chicago Tribune "A Great Thing to See."

A bison calf was born early Monday April 6 and was pictured staying near its mother as it walks with the herd.  It was born at the Nachusa Grasslands, near Franklin Grove, Illinois, (headquarters of the Lincoln Highway Association).

The site hosted what may be the first birth of a wild bison east of the Mississippi River in nearly two centuries.  The bison on this land are treated as wild animals, roaming what soon will be 1,500 acres and touched by people only once a year for a veterinary checkup.

Conservationists say bison are a crucial role in the restoration of the prairie, which once spread across 22 million acres -- about 60% -- of Illinois.

"It is a great thing to see these animals being restored to the land," one bison expert said.

"Where the Buffalo Roam."  --RoadDog