WRF's Zoo-Tribe Partnerships
Sioux Tribe “Brings Home”
Two Bison Calves Born at Red River Zoo
Year-old bison calves, a female and a male, born of parents given to the zoo by a National Park, travel safely to join the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Sioux’s Tribal Buffalo Herd on the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota to diversify herd genetics and conserve prairie grasslands
FARGO, ND - July 30, 2025 - The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate (SWO) Sioux Tribe and Red River Zoo, through efforts facilitated by the Wildlife Restoration Foundation (WRF) and the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC), have successfully translocated two year-old calves from the zoo to wild prairie lands inhabited by the SWO Tribal buffalo herd on the Lake Traverse Reservation which crosses northeastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota. The calves were born from two bison females and a bull bison received by the zoo from a National Park in 2022 as part of a WRF-facilitated Zoo-Park Partnership (ZPP) for America’s Keystone Wildlife founded in 2019 to establish a small satellite/safety-net herd of high-genetic integrity bison. WRF’s ZPPs Project assembles partnerships to conduct collaborative field conservation and stimulate public wildlife stewardship and community-based conservation activities. The RRZ-SWO bison transfer symbolizes a new era. Tribes with cultures and livelihoods intertwined with the buffalo (Bison bison)—before mass loss of bison with European settlement in the 1800s—are reacquiring bison to increase Tribal herd viability.
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“The InterTribal Buffalo Council is happy to help Tribes connect with entities that have surplus animals, and excited to see that Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and the Red River Zoo connect to find a home for these two young animals,” says Trudy Ecoffey, ITBC Technical Services Director.
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“Collaboration and connection are at the heart of everything we do at the zoo,” said Sally Mulvena, RRZ’s president and CEO. “From the earliest concepts of the exhibit, we hoped to build partnerships like this. Working with the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate has been a privilege and a highlight for our team.”
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“From the formation days of the ZPP, Sally has aimed to return the offspring of the National Park-donated bison living at the zoo to Sioux Tribes,” says Julie Anton Randall, WRF president. “We are so pleased that ITBC was able to connect us to the SWO so the zoo’s bison calves can join a nearby Tribal buffalo herd.”
Prairie Ecosystem Conservation and Tribal Values
​The native grasslands of the Great Plains that extend from Canada to Mexico are the most altered and endangered ecosystem in North America. The bison helps engineer grasslands back to health, benefiting numerous wildlife directly and generating native plant growth through their behaviors and movements, and even the seeds they pick up and deliver
through the shedding of their coats.
“There’s a quiet strength in the prairie that stays with you,” said Mulvena. “Our Pride of the Prairie exhibit honors that beauty and the people working to protect it—right here in the Dakotas.”
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“Bison are a natural centerpiece among species that WRF aims to restore” says Anton Randall. “Our Bison Program includes the North American Bison Summit with participation by 25 Tribes, and our aim is to help build upon this foundation to generate resources like zoo bison that contribute to Tribal recovery from an era in American history that was devastating for Tribes and wildlife alike.”
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Precedent Set for Possible Future Transfers
With careful consideration of details like health testing and safe movement of the year-old bison from a zoo environment to wild range, the transfer by horse trailer took place on June 11, 2025, as arranged by WRF and ITBC. It was a short 1.5-hour drive from Fargo where the two bison were released without harm to join the SWO Tribal buffalo herd.
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Check out the Red River Zoo’s Pride of Prairie exhibit here https://www.redriverzoo.org/
To learn more about ITBC, view here https://www.itbcbuffalonation.org/surplus-program
Visit the Wildlife Restoration Foundation ZPPs Project and NABS pages to understand how bison recovery is a big part of America’s wildlife conservation efforts. https://www.wildlifeandparks.org/
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About the Red River Zoo
The Red River Zoo is a space where wonder meets purpose. A proud AZA-accredited nonprofit in Fargo, North Dakota, the zoo invites guests to discover animals uniquely adapted to northern climates, have meaningful experiences, connect with the beauty of the living world, and be inspired to take action. Exhibits like the Pride of the Prairie reflect the zoo’s belief that conservation happens through connection, and that protecting wildlife begins with community. Guided by a mission to “Connect. Inspire. Save Species.” the Red River Zoo relies on earned revenue, volunteerism, and philanthropy to grow its impact and ensure these stories are shared for generations to come.
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About the InterTribal Buffalo Council
The InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) is a Tribal organization dedicated to restoring buffalo to tribal lands in a way that promotes cultural revitalization, ecological sustainability, and economic development. Established in 1992, ITBC is composed of over 80 federally recognized Tribes across the United States. ITBC works to support Tribal efforts in buffalo conservation, management, and education, recognizing the deep spiritual, cultural, and historical significance of the buffalo. Through collaboration and advocacy, ITBC plays a key role in strengthening Tribal sovereignty and reconnecting Tribal communities with this vital animal.
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About the Wildlife Restoration Foundation (WRF)
WRF is a U.S. 501c(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to directly and measurably increase wildlife population viability, health and security through partnerships and efforts to keep land in habitat and marine ecosystems thriving. WRF uniquely conserves wildlife by designing partnerships that aim to meet the needs of Tribes and family ranches seeking to hold onto productive grasslands, traditional livelihoods, and cultural heritage. WRF’s Bison Program focuses on animal translocations that augment herd composition and increasing resources for Tribal buffalo programs. WRF pairs Tribes with zoos and aquariums partnering with parks to add veterinary and biologist capacity to field work and improve the accuracy of historical interpretation at exhibits. WRF is lead organizer of the North American Bison Summit www.nabsummit.org (April 2025 and Fall 2026) and North American Collaborating with Wildlife Summit (~Spring 2026).
