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[camera clicks]\ \
[Wyman Meinzer]\ This is the last vestige of a herd of three
and a half to four million bison that once lived here for thousands of years.
It is a part of Texas history that must not be lost.
\ \
My name is Wyman Meinzer and I'm a professional photographer.\
\ [camera clicks]\
\ [wind]\
\ You know every time I drive into this country
I'm reminded of some of the words from the old buffalo hunters and pioneer journals about
the wildlife that existed here, the bison especially, literally millions of them.\
\ [music] \
\ [wind]\
\ [old film plays]\
\ [Meinzer]\
I actually saw the old film that was released in 1916.
It was an opportunity to see the way that the Native Americans hunted.
It was just a glimpse into the past that we will never see again.\
\ [bison grunting]\
\ [Donald Beard]\
These are Southern Plains bison that for thousands of years have roamed this area.
My name is Donald Beard.
I'm the Park Superintendent here at Caprock Canyons State Park.
It's almost 14,000 acres of some of the most rugged beautiful canyon lands in the state
of Texas.
The light just does amazing things in here.
We're the home of the official State of Texas bison herd.
\ \
[bison grunts]\ \
These bison have unique genetic markers not found in any other bison in the world.
They are an important, crucially vitally important part of the conservation of the species of
bison.\ \
[music]\ \
[Meinzer]\ The great kill occurred really in 1877 when
they said like over a million bison were killed in Texas.
Each buffalo under killing hundreds of buffalo in a matter of days.
It was here on the JA Ranch in the late 1870s when Charles Goodnight and his wife Mary established
the buffalo herd that is today on Caprock Canyons State Park.
\ \
She saw the slaughter occurring, felt for the bison, saw the little calves and just
decided, you know, I'm going to save some of them.
\ \
[camera clicks]\ \
J. Wright Moore when he talked about coming into this region and just seeing a herd of
buffalo, you know, 10 miles deep and 110 miles wide.
And it just, it just amazes me to think this country could support that many creatures.\
\ [bison stampede]\
\ [gates clang]\
\ [Donald Beard]\
We're in the process of performing our annual gathering and working of the Texas State Bison
Herd.
What we do is we administer vaccines to safeguard against various diseases.
\ \
[Staffer]\ Alright, she needs blood work.\
\ [Beard]\
We perform pregnancy checks on the females, do an overall health check of all the animals,
just make sure everybody's good and healthy and just general health check, make sure it's
all good.\ \
[gates clang]\ \
These are just amazing creatures.
And when you're down on the ground with them and you're up close with them, you really
get a sense of how massive they are.
You have to kind of pinch yourself every now and then so you don't take it for granted.
\ \
[Woman]\ There's a buffalo down there.
\ \
[Beard]\ So our goal is to expand their territory here
in the park from about 300 acres into approximately 1000 acres of native grass restored prairie
land.\ \
[music]\ \
[bison grunting]\ \
What we have done is we've allowed the animals to come into the new pasture.
We are restoring an indigenous wildlife to its native habitat.\
\ [Meinzer]\
The genetic pool of Southern Plains Bison will roam the old trails of the millions before
them and I'm very thankful for that.\ \
[bison stampeding]\ \
[Beard]\ This is its, its historic home and we're fulfilling
Mary Ann Goodnight's vision.
\ \
[camera clicks]\ \
[Meinzer]\ With the dust, with the light, even though
I'm viewing a herd of 75 or 80 through a lens, I'm thinking of 10,000.
\ \
Because of the long-term view of people like Charles Goodnight and Mary Ann Goodnight,
the JA Ranch, Texas Parks and Wildlife, we still have these wonderful beasts among us.\
\ [Boy]\
Mamma, that one.
That one, mamma.\ \
[Woman] \ This is so exciting just to see this, just
to picture what it was like long, long ago.
\ \
[Beard]\ We have tried to look at every aspect possible
as far as safety of both the animals and the visitors.
When you come in the park you are in the habitat with the bison.
\ \
[car drives in]\ \
They are wild animals.
They can run 35 miles an hour, faster than a horse.\
\ [camera clicks]\
\ We have designed this fence so it's strong
as it can be but still maintain that free ranging appearance where they're not behind
an exhibit.
I think our biggest key is going to be visitor education.
We have to let these people know that when they come in that these are wild animals.
That they need to keep their distance and keep safe.
Eventually we hope to have the herd roaming just the entire park itself.\
\ [music]\
\ [Beard]\
These magnificent animals, the Texas State Bison Herd, the last remnants of the Great
Southern Plains Bison, these animals belong to the state of Texas.
They're your animals.
It's a great opportunity to come view the last of their kind, as we try to do our best
to expand their range and grow the herd.\ \
}