Editing Beefalo (section)

== Effect on bison conservation ==
{{See also|Conservation of American bison}}
Most current bison herds are [[Genetic pollution|"genetically polluted"]], meaning that they are partly crossbred with cattle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildcattleconservation.org/WildCattleNews/WildCattleNews.htm#news20070109 |title=Strands of undesirable DNA roam with Buffalo, By Jim Robbins, 9th January 2007, The New York Times |publisher=Wildcattleconservation.org |access-date=2009-10-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=2387208 |author=Polzhiehn, R.O. |author2=C. Strobeck |author3=J. Sheraton |author4=R. Beech |s2cid=85575841 |name-list-style=amp |year=1995|title= Bovine mtDNA Discovered in North American Bison Populations|journal= Conservation Biology |volume=9|issue=6|pages= 1638–43|doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1995.09061638.x|bibcode=1995ConBi...9.1638P }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://animalgenomics.missouri.edu/Halbert_Mol_Ecology_2005.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422053155/http://animalgenomics.missouri.edu/Halbert_Mol_Ecology_2005.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-04-22 |title=Halbert, N.D., Ward, T.J., Schnabel, R.D., Taylor, J.F and Derr, J.N. (2005) Conservation genomics: disequilibrium mapping of domestic cattle chromosomal segments in North American bison populations. Molecular Ecology (2005) 14, 2343–2362 |publisher=Animalgenomics.missouri.edu |date=12 February 2009 |access-date=2009-10-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://assignmentemperor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/etd-tamu-2003C-ACCT-Halbert-1.pdf |title=Halbert, Natalie Dierschke (2003) The utilization of genetic markers to resolve modern management issues in historic bison populations: implications for species conservation Ph. D. Dissertation, Texas A&M University, December 2003 |access-date=2009-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723232009/http://assignmentemperor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/etd-tamu-2003C-ACCT-Halbert-1.pdf |archive-date=2015-07-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There are only four genetically unmixed American bison herds left, and only two that are also free of [[brucellosis]]: the [[Wind Cave bison herd]] that roams [[Wind Cave National Park]], [[South Dakota]]; and the [[Henry Mountains bison herd|Henry Mountains herd]] in the Henry Mountains of Utah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://upr.org/post/genetically-pure-bison-found-utah |title=Genetically Pure Bison Found in Utah |publisher=UPR Utah Public Ratio |date=16 December 2015 |access-date=2015-12-24}}</ref>

Dr. Dirk Van Vuren, formerly of the University of Kansas, however, points out that "The bison today that carry cattle DNA look exactly like bison, function exactly like bison and in fact are bison. For conservation groups, the interest is that they are not totally pure."<ref>{{cite web | title=American icons aren't the animals they used to be | url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14951-american-icons-arent-the-animals-they-used-to-be.html | work=[[New Scientist]] | author=Catherine Brahic | date=15 October 2008 | access-date=2015-01-07}}</ref>