A Brief History
How The American Bison Got Cattle DNA
Frequently Asked Questions About Bison Blend Cattle
Fertile F-1 Bison Hybrid Bulls
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It was long believed that the first cross male offspring from interbreeding bison and cattle were always infertile or sterile, while the females are generally fertile.
Several theories have been put forward as the reason for this, such as poor scrotal development, carrying testicles too close to the body, or just mismatched genetics in the male cross; however there have been a number of bulls that were exceptions to the rule.
Most reason the genetic mix between bison and bovine must be nearly perfect to produce the fertile male cross. Others believe that the bison used to produce these F-1’s actually had some cattle blood, which could increase the odds of producing a fertile bull.
Here are some examples of F-1 bulls that were fertile.
Wyoming Thunder
Performance Plus
Mystique
Fertile Half Herford Half Bison
Dr. Ken Throlson in North Dakota was a buffalo breeder with a bison bull that liked to visit the neighbor’s beef cows. The result from one of the visits was Wyoming Thunder. Throlson bought the half bison calf back from his neighbor and raised the bull as a novelty. The bull developed well and as a two year old, was bred to a small number of Hereford X Shorthorn cows. Three of the cows had calves by this bull. One was a quarter bison bull calf, named Rex that was later purchased by Beefalo Breeder Harold Odermann. Rex was probably the only quarter bison bull registered by the Beefalo Association out of a recognized fertile F-1 half-bison bull.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ken acknowledged that he was really in the Bison business, and didn’t want to risk having this hybrid bull breeding his regular bison cows, so he sold him to Paul Butler. Taken to Wyoming, the bull failed to settle cows, so Butler had Wyoming Thunder tested by Colorado State University. The bull was confirmed producing live sperm, but suffered from a reproductive infection, seminal vasiculitus. Although treated, Wyoming Thunder never fully recovered and was later sold for beef.
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Performance Plus was an F-1 bison hybrid bull produced in Montana by a bison bull, out of a Black Baldy cow. This bull also had several half bison sisters, one which produced a ¾ bison bull when bred back to her sire. The ¾ bull was supposedly fertile, but attempts to collect semen for artificial insemination were not successful. However, Performance Plus was fertile, and produced a good number of excellent calves, and was later collected successfully for artificial insemination.
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The late David Bird whose Idaho ranch was near the Utah border wanted to produce a White Buffalo Bull to be used as a symbol and mascot for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Bird’s plan was to create a white buffalo by interbreeding his neighbor’s bison bulls to his own British White Park cows.
The Olympic Committee turned down his offer for a White Buffalo, but one of the results of Bird’s efforts was Mystique, a fertile half bison-half White Park bull. Bird used the bull on his own cows, producing a number of quarter bison calves.
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At first glance this looks like a run of the mill Hereford Range Bull. Look closer. This is actually a fertile F-1 bison hybrid. It takes a practiced eye to “see” any bison in him. As old time Beefalo Breeders would say, “He’s got more hump and less rump.” Notice the heavy forequarters, thick neck, and odd head shape. Most fertile F-1’s exhibit significant bovine phenotype which is probably why they are fertile.
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