View source for Beefalo

{{Short description|Hybrid of cattle and bison}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Hybridbox/lua
| image = XJ-B1 Beefalo.jpg
| image_alt = Beefalo bull
| image_caption = Beefalo bull
| status = DOM 
| status_system = 
| status_ref = 
| parent = Bovina
| genus1 = Bos
| species1 = taurus
| link1 = Cattle
| genus2 = Bison
| species2 = bison
| link2 = American bison
}}
'''Beefalo''' constitutes a [[hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] offspring of [[domestic cattle]] (''Bos taurus''), usually a male, and the [[American bison]] (''Bison bison''), usually a female, in managed [[breeding program]]s.<ref name="Porter2008">{{cite book|last=Porter|first=Valerie|title=The Field Guide to Cattle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6CSqgpIC0YC&pg=PA70|access-date=14 May 2015|year=2008|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=978-0-7603-3192-7|page=70}}</ref><ref name="Drew et al 1989">{{cite book|last1=Drew|first1=K. R.|last2=Baskin|first2=L. M.|title=Wildlife Production Systems: Economic Utilisation of Wild Ungulates|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=roE8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA354|access-date=14 May 2015|year=1989|publisher=CUP Archive|isbn=978-0-521-34099-1|page=354}}</ref> The breed was created to combine the characteristics of both animals for beef production.

Beefalo are primarily cattle in [[Genotype|genetics]] and [[Phenotype|appearance]], with the [[breed association]] defining a full Beefalo as one with three-eighths (37.5%) bison genetics, while animals with higher percentages of bison genetics are called bison hybrids.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Breeds – Beefalo|url=https://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/97/beefalo/|access-date=2020-10-29|website=The Cattle Site|language=en}}</ref> However, genomic analysis has found that the vast majority of Beefalo, even those considered [[Pedigree (animal)|pedigree]] by the breed association, have no detectable bison ancestry, with no sampled Beefalo having higher than 18% bison ancestry, with most Beefalo consisting of a mixture of [[Cattle|taurine]] cattle and [[zebu]] cattle ancestry.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Shapiro |first1=Beth |url=https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/102750v1 |title=Most Beefalo cattle have no detectable bison genetic ancestry |last2=Oppenheimer |first2=Jonas |date=2024 |journal=eLife |volume=13 |doi=10.7554/elife.102750.1.sa3 |doi-access=free |display-authors=1}}</ref>

== History and genomics ==
Accidental crosses were noticed as long ago as 1749 in the [[Southern Colonies]] of North America, during [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonization]]. Cattle and bison were first intentionally [[crossbred]] during the mid-19th century.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dafoe|first1=John W.|title=Domestication of the Buffalo|journal=Popular Science Monthly|date=April 1889|volume=34|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Popular_Science_Monthly/Volume_34/April_1889/Domestication_of_the_Buffalo|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref>

One of the first efforts to cross-breed bison and domestic cattle was in 1815 by Robert Wickliffe of Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Wickliffe's experiments continued for up to 30 years.<ref name="Hornaday2002">{{cite book|last=Hornaday|first=William|title=The Extermination of the American Bison|year=2002|publisher= Outlook Verlag Press|isbn= 9783752310689|pages=98}}</ref>

Another early deliberate attempt to cross-breed bison with cattle was made by Colonel Samuel Bedson, warden of [[Stony Mountain Institution|Stoney Mountain Penitentiary]], Winnipeg, in 1880. Bedson bought eight bison from a captive herd of James McKay and inter-bred them with [[shorthorn|Durham cattle]]. The hybrids raised by Bedson were described by naturalist [[Ernest Thompson Seton]]:<ref name="Brower2008">{{cite book|last=Brower|first=Jennifer|title=Lost Tracks: National Buffalo Park, 1909–1939|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGA2K51m_YQC&pg=PA132|access-date=14 May 2015|year=2008|publisher=Athabasca University Press|isbn=978-1-897425-10-7|pages=132–133}}</ref>
{{blockquote|''The hybrid animal is [claimed] to be a great improvement on both of its progenitors, as it is more docile and a better milker than the Buffalo, but retains its hardihood, while the robe is finer, darker and more even, and the general shape of the animal is improved by the reduction of the hump and increased proportion of the hind-quarters.''}}

After seeing thousands of cattle die in a [[blizzard]] in 1886, [[Charles "Buffalo" Jones]], a co-founder of [[Garden City, Kansas|Garden City]], Kansas, also worked to cross bison and cattle at a ranch near the future [[Grand Canyon National Park]], with the hope the animals could survive the harsh winters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/portraits/jones_charles.htm |title=Charles Jesse "Buffalo" Jones |publisher=Kshs.org |access-date=2009-10-02}}</ref>  He called the result "cattalo" in 1888.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/jf05/indepth/ |title=The Story of Cattalo |publisher=canadiangeographic.ca |date=May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050901164141/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/jf05/indepth/ |archive-date=2005-09-01 }}</ref> [[Mossom Martin Boyd]] of [[Bobcaygeon]], Ontario first started the practice in Canada, publishing about some of his outcomes in the Journal of Heredity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boyd|first=M. M.|date=1914|title=Crossing bison and cattle|journal=J Hered|volume=5|issue=5: 189–197|pages=189–197|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a107838}}</ref> After his death in 1914, the Canadian government continued experiments in crossbreeding up to 1964, with little success. For example, in 1936 the Canadian government had successfully cross-bred only 30 cattalos.<ref name="Magazines1934">{{cite book|last=Magazines|first=Hearst|title=Popular Mechanics|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yt8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA863|access-date=14 May 2015|date=December 1934|publisher=Hearst Magazines|page=863|chapter=Cattle Developed for North are Part Buffalo|issn=0032-4558}}</ref>

It was found early on that crossing a male bison with a domestic cow would produce few offspring, but that crossing a domestic bull with a bison cow apparently solved the problem. The female offspring proved fertile, but rarely so for the males. Although the cattalo performed well, the mating problems meant the breeder had to maintain a herd of wild and difficult-to-handle bison cows.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

In 1965, Jim Burnett of Montana produced a hybrid bull that was fertile.<ref name="Columbia Missourian 2008">{{cite web | title=A Missouri family raises beefalo as a low-fat alternative to beef cattle | website=Columbia Missourian | date=21 July 2008 | url=https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/a-missouri-family-raises-beefalo-as-a-low-fat-alternative-to-beef-cattle/article_aa935a02-495a-50ee-8065-7dafad900911.html | access-date=2022-05-23}}</ref> Californian cattle rancher  D.C. "Bud" Basolo developed the Beefalo breed in the 1970s. He did not reveal the precise pedigree of the breed.<ref name=":0" />

The breed is defined by The American Beefalo Association as being genetically at least five-eighths ''Bos taurus'' and at most three-eighths ''Bison bison''.<ref name=":0" />

In 2024, a genetic study, including historical samples from Basolo's foundational herd, found that the majority of Beefalo cattle who were genomically sequenced (39 out of 47 sampled), including those from Basolo's original herd, had no detectable bison ancestry. Of the 8 that did have some bison ancestry, this was no higher than 18% (and as low as 2% in some individuals), which is much lower than that of the supposed pedigree. Most Beefalo were instead found to be either entirely of [[taurine cattle]] ancestry or more commonly, mixed with varying levels of [[zebu]] ancestry in proportions of 2% to 38%.<ref name=":0" />

== Nutrition characteristics==
A [[United States Department of Agriculture]] study found Beefalo meat, like bison meat, to be lower in fat and [[cholesterol]] than standard beef cattle.<ref name =aba>[http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/beefalo-facts-zmaz81mazraw.aspx Beefalo Facts]</ref>

== Registration ==
In 1983, the three main Beefalo registration groups reorganized under the American Beefalo World Registry. Until November 2008, there were two Beefalo associations, the American Beefalo World Registry<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abwr.org |title=ABWR |publisher=ABWR |access-date=2009-10-02| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091012195541/http://www.abwr.org/| archive-date= 12 October 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> and American Beefalo International. These organizations jointly formed the American Beefalo Association, Inc., which currently operates as the registering body for Beefalo in the United States.<ref name="AmerBeefAssoc">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanbeefalo.org/|title=American Beefalo Association |access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref>

== Effect on bison conservation ==
{{See also|Conservation of American bison}}
Most current bison herds are [[Genetic pollution|"genetically polluted"]], meaning that they are partly crossbred with cattle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildcattleconservation.org/WildCattleNews/WildCattleNews.htm#news20070109 |title=Strands of undesirable DNA roam with Buffalo, By Jim Robbins, 9th January 2007, The New York Times |publisher=Wildcattleconservation.org |access-date=2009-10-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=2387208 |author=Polzhiehn, R.O. |author2=C. Strobeck |author3=J. Sheraton |author4=R. Beech |s2cid=85575841 |name-list-style=amp |year=1995|title= Bovine mtDNA Discovered in North American Bison Populations|journal= Conservation Biology |volume=9|issue=6|pages= 1638–43|doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1995.09061638.x|bibcode=1995ConBi...9.1638P }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://animalgenomics.missouri.edu/Halbert_Mol_Ecology_2005.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422053155/http://animalgenomics.missouri.edu/Halbert_Mol_Ecology_2005.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-04-22 |title=Halbert, N.D., Ward, T.J., Schnabel, R.D., Taylor, J.F and Derr, J.N. (2005) Conservation genomics: disequilibrium mapping of domestic cattle chromosomal segments in North American bison populations. Molecular Ecology (2005) 14, 2343–2362 |publisher=Animalgenomics.missouri.edu |date=12 February 2009 |access-date=2009-10-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://assignmentemperor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/etd-tamu-2003C-ACCT-Halbert-1.pdf |title=Halbert, Natalie Dierschke (2003) The utilization of genetic markers to resolve modern management issues in historic bison populations: implications for species conservation Ph. D. Dissertation, Texas A&M University, December 2003 |access-date=2009-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723232009/http://assignmentemperor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/etd-tamu-2003C-ACCT-Halbert-1.pdf |archive-date=2015-07-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There are only four genetically unmixed American bison herds left, and only two that are also free of [[brucellosis]]: the [[Wind Cave bison herd]] that roams [[Wind Cave National Park]], [[South Dakota]]; and the [[Henry Mountains bison herd|Henry Mountains herd]] in the Henry Mountains of Utah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://upr.org/post/genetically-pure-bison-found-utah |title=Genetically Pure Bison Found in Utah |publisher=UPR Utah Public Ratio |date=16 December 2015 |access-date=2015-12-24}}</ref>

Dr. Dirk Van Vuren, formerly of the University of Kansas, however, points out that "The bison today that carry cattle DNA look exactly like bison, function exactly like bison and in fact are bison. For conservation groups, the interest is that they are not totally pure."<ref>{{cite web | title=American icons aren't the animals they used to be | url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14951-american-icons-arent-the-animals-they-used-to-be.html | work=[[New Scientist]] | author=Catherine Brahic | date=15 October 2008 | access-date=2015-01-07}}</ref>

== Environmental impacts ==
Although popular with tourists and hunters, escaped beefalo have been destroying parts of the ecosystem, as well as ancient stone ruins, in the [[Grand Canyon]] and threatening native species.  By 2015, numbers were growing by 50% per year and there were at least 600 animals roaming the park.<ref name="Magazine Clark 2015 l549">{{cite web | last=Clark| first=Laura| title=A Beefalo Invasion Is Causing Trouble in the Grand Canyon | website=Smithsonian Magazine | date=4 March 2015 | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/beefalo-invasion-causing-trouble-grand-canyon-180954458/ | access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref> [[Grand Canyon National Park]] was reporting an accident a day due to tourist interactions with beefalo.<ref name="Bullock 2015 r633">{{cite web | last=Bullock | first=Anne-Marie | title=How do you solve a problem like the 'Beefalo'? | website=BBC News | date=2 March 2015 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31661920 | access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref>  In 2018, the park began trapping the animals and giving them to Native American tribes outside the state. In addition, volunteer hunters were enlisted to cull the herds, with a goal of reducing the population to 200 animals.<ref name="Dungan 2018 l096">{{cite web | last=Dungan | first=Ron | title=How Many Beefalo Is Too Many Beefalo? | website=Sierra Club | date=20 June 2018 | url=https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/too-many-bison-culling-hunting-grand-canyon-beefalo | access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref> As of 2022, the herd was down to 216 individuals, with only 4 having been taken by hunters.<ref name="Gulliford 2023 w973">{{cite web | last=Gulliford | first=Andrew | title=Buffalo Jones and bison that don't belong at the Grand Canyon | website=Durango Herald | date=7 January 2023 | url=https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/buffalo-jones-and-bison-that-dont-belong-at-the-grand-canyon/ | access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref>

== Cattalo ==
The term ''cattalo'', a [[portmanteau]] of ''cattle'' and ''buffalo'', is defined by United States law as a cross of bison and cattle which have a bison appearance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/cfrassemble.cgi?title=200409 |title=Code of Federal Regulations (9CFR352.1) rev 2004.&nbsp;— "Catalo or Cattalo means any hybrid animal with American bison appearance resulting from direct crossbreeding of American bison and cattle." |publisher=Access.gpo.gov |access-date=2009-10-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826093000/http://www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/cfrassemble.cgi?title=200409 |archive-date=26 August 2009 }}</ref>

In some American states, cattalo are regulated as [[exotic animals]], along with pure bison and [[deer]]. However, in most states, bison and hybrids which are raised solely for livestock purposes similar to cattle, are considered domestic animals like cattle, and do not require special permits.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

== See also ==
* [[American Breed]]
* [[Bovid hybrid]]
* [[Buddy the Beefalo]]
* [[Dzo]]
* [[Haldane's rule]]
* [[Yakalo]]
* [[Żubroń]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.kshs.org/portraits/jones_charles.htm Kansas State Historical Society]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050901164141/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/jf05/indepth/ The Story of Cattalo]. ''[[Canadian Geographic]]''

{{Cattle breeds of the United States}}
{{Beef}}
{{Mammal hybrids}}

[[Category:Beef]]
[[Category:Cattle breeds]]
[[Category:Cattle breeds originating in Canada]]
[[Category:Cattle breeds originating in the United States]]
[[Category:Cattle crossbreeds]]
[[Category:Intergeneric hybrids]]
[[Category:American bison]]
[[Category:Bison as food]]