The Fermilab bison herd was established in 1969 [1] at the U.S. national laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, about 34 mi (55 km) west of Chicago, under the leadership of physicist, amateur architect and Wyoming native Robert R. Wilson. [2] The herd grazes an 800-acre (320 ha; 3.2 km2) pasture [3] adjacent to the Fermilab prairie, which sits atop the accelerator's underground Main Ring and Tevatron. [4] [5] The herd usually averages around 25 individuals; [6] as of spring 2022, the head count of the herd was 32 individuals. [7]
A bull and four cows [8] were first brought to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory as a visual reminder of the idea science is a frontier. [9] [10] In 1971, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources added 21 head. [8] The bison herd added a utopian dimension to a physics lab that was associated in the mind of the general public with the terror of the Bomb. [11] The herd was also explicitly a tourist attraction. [11] The bison were meant to be classic symbol of Americana, familiar from Western-genre stories and films, for visitors from overseas; [8] for domestic visitors, the opportunity to visit the bison marked the lab as an accessible populist space, rather than as a secretive quasi-military government installation. [11] The historian Edward Tenner suggested in Wilson Quarterly that the curved towers of the Alan H. Rider-designed Fermilab admin building represent a cathedral of science and innovation that, in combination with the bison herd and the prairie restoration, projected "exuberant hope for the future [bound with] profound respect for human and natural heritage." [12] Utopia or not, the animals are contained by two layers of fencing, 12 ft (3.7 m) apart and with one ring tall enough to block a potentially 6 ft (1.8 m) vertical leap. [8] The fences are further marked with warning signs designating the grounds as a dangerous high radiation area. [8] (There is no radiation danger to civilians at Fermilab, [8] but the signs work as an added layer of discouragement to anyone contemplating messing with a bison.)
The Fermilab herd is one of 12 federally managed "buffalo" herds in the United States. [13] Most of the federal herds are managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and partners; Fermilab's herd is solely managed by the Department of Energy. [13] All of the government-owned herds are considered conservation herds; there were about 50 conservation herds in North America circa 2006. [13] (Hundreds of thousands of other bison are owned by commercial ranching operations.) [13] [8]
Both the bison herd and the prairie are part of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Environmental Research Park. [14] The Fermilab herd of DuPage County, and two other herds established during the 21st century at Nachusa Grasslands ( Ogle County– Lee County) and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie ( Will County) represent the first bison to live in Illinois since the early 1800s. [15] Testing has found that the Fermilab display herd of indigenous Bison bison does not have any introgression of either mitochondrial or nuclear DNA [16] from domestic cattle ( Bos taurus). [3]
Twitter-suggested names for a bison calf born at the lab in 2016 included Higgs Bison, Bison Tennial, Niels Bohrson and Neil DeGrass Bison. [17]
The herd got up to 160 head in the 1990s [8] but is now kept to about 20 to 25 animals. [6] The herd's bulls are changed out from time to time in order to prevent inbreeding depression. [18] The bison get annual veterinary checkups but are otherwise left to their own devices. [7] There is a bison cemetery on the laboratory grounds where they bury animals that die of old age; other animals are auctioned off to ranchers in order to maintain a herd size appropriate for the carrying capacity of the site. [8] The Fermi herdsmen responsible for the bison, in cooperation with the lab's Roads and Grounds Department, [7] work out of a converted dairy building that dates to around 1900. [8]
According to one site caretaker, the most important thing to know about bison is "leave them alone." [6]
Fans can observe the herd via a webcam. [1] Visitors to the site must show valid ID; U.S. state driver's licenses must be Real ID-compliant after May 3, 2023. [19] Entrance gates are located at Pine Street Entrance in Batavia or Batavia Road in Warrenville. Summer hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. [8] The Lederman Science Center opens at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday. [19]
The Fermilab bison herd was established in 1969 [1] at the U.S. national laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, about 34 mi (55 km) west of Chicago, under the leadership of physicist, amateur architect and Wyoming native Robert R. Wilson. [2] The herd grazes an 800-acre (320 ha; 3.2 km2) pasture [3] adjacent to the Fermilab prairie, which sits atop the accelerator's underground Main Ring and Tevatron. [4] [5] The herd usually averages around 25 individuals; [6] as of spring 2022, the head count of the herd was 32 individuals. [7]
A bull and four cows [8] were first brought to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory as a visual reminder of the idea science is a frontier. [9] [10] In 1971, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources added 21 head. [8] The bison herd added a utopian dimension to a physics lab that was associated in the mind of the general public with the terror of the Bomb. [11] The herd was also explicitly a tourist attraction. [11] The bison were meant to be classic symbol of Americana, familiar from Western-genre stories and films, for visitors from overseas; [8] for domestic visitors, the opportunity to visit the bison marked the lab as an accessible populist space, rather than as a secretive quasi-military government installation. [11] The historian Edward Tenner suggested in Wilson Quarterly that the curved towers of the Alan H. Rider-designed Fermilab admin building represent a cathedral of science and innovation that, in combination with the bison herd and the prairie restoration, projected "exuberant hope for the future [bound with] profound respect for human and natural heritage." [12] Utopia or not, the animals are contained by two layers of fencing, 12 ft (3.7 m) apart and with one ring tall enough to block a potentially 6 ft (1.8 m) vertical leap. [8] The fences are further marked with warning signs designating the grounds as a dangerous high radiation area. [8] (There is no radiation danger to civilians at Fermilab, [8] but the signs work as an added layer of discouragement to anyone contemplating messing with a bison.)
The Fermilab herd is one of 12 federally managed "buffalo" herds in the United States. [13] Most of the federal herds are managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and partners; Fermilab's herd is solely managed by the Department of Energy. [13] All of the government-owned herds are considered conservation herds; there were about 50 conservation herds in North America circa 2006. [13] (Hundreds of thousands of other bison are owned by commercial ranching operations.) [13] [8]
Both the bison herd and the prairie are part of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Environmental Research Park. [14] The Fermilab herd of DuPage County, and two other herds established during the 21st century at Nachusa Grasslands ( Ogle County– Lee County) and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie ( Will County) represent the first bison to live in Illinois since the early 1800s. [15] Testing has found that the Fermilab display herd of indigenous Bison bison does not have any introgression of either mitochondrial or nuclear DNA [16] from domestic cattle ( Bos taurus). [3]
Twitter-suggested names for a bison calf born at the lab in 2016 included Higgs Bison, Bison Tennial, Niels Bohrson and Neil DeGrass Bison. [17]
The herd got up to 160 head in the 1990s [8] but is now kept to about 20 to 25 animals. [6] The herd's bulls are changed out from time to time in order to prevent inbreeding depression. [18] The bison get annual veterinary checkups but are otherwise left to their own devices. [7] There is a bison cemetery on the laboratory grounds where they bury animals that die of old age; other animals are auctioned off to ranchers in order to maintain a herd size appropriate for the carrying capacity of the site. [8] The Fermi herdsmen responsible for the bison, in cooperation with the lab's Roads and Grounds Department, [7] work out of a converted dairy building that dates to around 1900. [8]
According to one site caretaker, the most important thing to know about bison is "leave them alone." [6]
Fans can observe the herd via a webcam. [1] Visitors to the site must show valid ID; U.S. state driver's licenses must be Real ID-compliant after May 3, 2023. [19] Entrance gates are located at Pine Street Entrance in Batavia or Batavia Road in Warrenville. Summer hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. [8] The Lederman Science Center opens at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday. [19]