Leadership at Wanuskewin Heritage Park is calling the birth of a bison calf on Sept. 30, National Truth and Reconciliation Day, a miracle.
“It’s incredible to think of the significance of this bison calf birth here at Wanuskewin. It wasn’t born on the 29th or the 1st, it was on the 30th. A day, which has such deep meaning behind it. The ancestors are telling us something important. At a certain point you cannot call this coincidence anymore,” said Wanuskewin Heritage Park CEO Darlene Brander in a news release.
Bison are normally born in the spring but it is possible for them to give birth in the fall.
The park is calling this new addition even more remarkable, given the importance of the herd and its connection to Northern Plains culture, and the fact bison nearly went extinct 150 years ago.
The bison manager said they will watch the calf closely but predicts it will put on weight quickly and the herd will keep it warm enough until it starts growing a warmer coat.
The bison herd at Wanuskewin is made up of one group from Grasslands National Park and another from Yellowstone National Park in the U.S., and the park said they represent kinship to the bison of the 1870s.