Fermilab welcomes bison calf

Baby bison season at Fermilab in Batavia began Monday.

The first calf of the year was born in the morning, and both the mother and baby are doing well, according to a news release from Fermilab. The lab expects 16 to 18 calves to be born this spring.

The herd currently has 32 bison — 30 cows and two bulls. The bulls are changed periodically to maintain the herd's genetic diversity.

Robert Wilson, Fermilab's first director, established the herd in 1969.

While bison no longer are an endangered species, conservation of the bison genome is still a federally recognized priority, the news release said.

Fermilab's genetic testing confirmed the laboratory's herd shows no evidence of cattle gene mixing. In early settlements, farmers bred bison with cattle to create tame bison or hardier cattle. Fermilab's bison are descendants of the few hundred wild bison that were never crossed with cattle.

Fermilab currently is closed to the general public.