Bison herd, Yellowstone National Park

We came across several herds of Bison during our trip to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park and also came across a few "lone" Bison, some distant and some very close. Such enormous, powerful animals. The one day, we were lucky enough to witness a small herd thundering down a dusty hillside slope to the river below. Felt like we were watching an old Cowboy movie or documentary.

"Brucellosis has caused devastating losses to farmers in the United States over the last
century. It has cost the Federal Government, the States, and the livestock industry billions
of dollars in direct losses and the cost of efforts to eliminate the disease. Brucellosis
causes abortions, infertility, and lowered milk production in cattle and bison and is
transmissible to humans as undulant fever. In people, the disease causes severe flu like
symptoms that can last for months or years. Treatment in humans is not always
successful. Moreover, treatment is not successful in animals.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) has been working cooperatively with the livestock industries and State
animal health authorities to eradicate brucellosis from the United States. As of March 1,
2002, 48 States have achieved brucellosis-free status with no known infection.

The only known focus of Brucella abortus infection left in the nation is in bison and elk
in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). With respect to this area, APHIS is cooperating
with State and Federal agencies to implement a bison management plan, in order to
provide for a free ranging bison herd and to prevent exposure of cattle to potentially
infected wildlife."

www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/cattle/d...