<
https://en.as.com/latest_news/mexico-reintroduced-bisons-in-2025-after-more-than-100-years-just-months-later-the-ecosystem-is-restoring-itself-f202609-n/>
"In northern Mexico, the reintroduction of dozens of bison in part of the
Chihuahuan Desert is positively impacting the surrounding ecosystem in several
major ways, says the body that is the driving force behind the initiative.
Last year, nearly 50 bison were brought into Cuatrociénegas, a
UNESCO-recognized nature reserve in Mexico’s Coahuila state. Renowned for its
gypsum dunes and its bright-blue pools of water, the 84,000-hectare,
federally-protected habitat is home to several hundred plant and animal species
- including multiple flora and fauna that are “critically vulnerable or
endangered”, UNESCO warns.
But the bison’s introduction in the El Santuario Reserve, a 4,000-hectare
section of Cuatrociégenas that’s at the heart of conservation efforts led by
the Fundación Pro Cuatrociénegas, is helping to “reactivate the dynamics and
the health of an ecosystem”, says Gerardo Ruiz Smith, the Fundación’s director.
“It offers you so much hope,” he told the Mexican media outlet
Vanguardia, to
see the impact of “simply bringing back a fundamental species that was there
before and should be there”.
Having been extirpated from the area by human activities in the 19th century,
the bovines returned in August 2025, when three bison were introduced in El
Santuario, in a collaboration between the Fundación Pro Cuatrociénegas and
Coahuila’s Museo del Desierto. In November, the Fundación then announced the
introduction of 44 more bison, in a multi-group effort that also involved the
Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature.
“After [bison] were hunted to the point of extinction in this area around 200
years ago, the return of a key species to the region of Cuatrociénegas is a
historic moment,” Ruiz Smith wrote on social media at the time. In a subsequent
post, he added: “This event represents much more than the reintroduction of an
emblematic animal: the bison is a true ecosystem engineer, capable of
regenerating soils, improving water infiltration, reducing wildfire risk and
strengthening the biodiversity of the Chihuahuan Desert.”"
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
