Breath-taking Bison Will Soon Be Living the High Life in Shakopee

Right now if you want to see Bison in the wild, you may feel like you need to go to Wyoming, Montana or Idaho. But, there are currently a couple places in Minnesota that you can see bison. And there will soon be one more in Shakopee, MN. Fox 9 News is reporting that Shakopee will take part in the reintegration of bison into the Minnesota prairie lands, where they will roam freely as a herd within an enclosure.

A quick google search tells us that originally, bison were found primarily in the grasslands and prairie of North America. Today, bison distribution is greatly limited due to population decline and their movements are greatly regulated. Within the national parks, bison are found at all elevations.

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The Bison will come from South Dakota. There will be about 15 of them. It’s all thanks to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. This from Fox 9:

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) officially announced its plans to reintroduce bison (pte, pronounced puh-TAY) on its tribal lands in Shakopee. After an extensive planning process to successfully bring the bison back to its lands in a safe and sustainable way, the plan is being put into action.

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If you’re wondering where exactly these bison will be located and how you can see them, that is all under consideration right now and the herd won’t arrive in Shakopee until Fall. The Mdewakanton website says:

The SMSC’s pteoptaye (Bison) will live on 165 acres of tribal land southeast of the junction of County Road 83 and Eagle Creek Boulevard in Shakopee, north of the tribes existing Organics Recycling Facility. The pte will roam freely within an enclosure and graze native prairie plants.

Under consideration, as mentioned, are a public viewing area for the pte (Bison) and possible learning opportunities for visitors or school groups. But at this time a specific public viewing area/ learning opportunities have not yet been developed.