Story perspectives

Study Finds 10,000-Year Bison Genetic Continuity, Limited Cattle Hybrids

8/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. researchers published a Science study showing ancient North American bison were genetically linked for 10,000 years.
They sequenced 115 ancient and 45 modern bison genomes, with Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton contributing.
The roughly 500 bison that survived the 19th-century bottleneck retained nearly the same genetic diversity as pre-collapse herds.
Only 32 of 97 modern plains bison samples showed cattle ancestry, refuting earlier claims of universal hybridization.

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Story summary

U.S. researchers published a Science study showing ancient North American bison were genetically linked for 10,000 years.
They sequenced 115 ancient and 45 modern bison genomes, with Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton contributing.
The roughly 500 bison that survived the 19th-century bottleneck retained nearly the same genetic diversity as pre-collapse herds.
Only 32 of 97 modern plains bison samples showed cattle ancestry, refuting earlier claims of universal hybridization.