1st baby bison born at Fermilab herd this spring

BATAVIA, Ill. – The first bison of the spring has been born at the U.S. Energy Department’s Fermilab facility, west of Chicago.

Officials say the calf was born on April 20, one of 12 to 14 expected this spring. The public is welcome to photograph and see the herd at the lab in Batavia, about 35 miles (56 kilometres) west of downtown Chicago. Admission is free.

Nearly 1,000 acres of tallgrass prairielands surround the lab. The first director, Robert Wilson, established the bison herd in 1969 as a symbol of the history of the Midwestern prairie and the lab’s pioneering research.

The lab is home to scientists who study particle physics and do accelerator research.