San Francisco’s aging bison herd is threatened with extinction. Only five remain after one of the pack was euthanized in April due to disease and old age.
The bison recently returned to a new, $1.2 million dollar improved paddock in Golden Gate Park, but with a shortfall in the city budget that could mean cuts for public safety or programs that serve the poor, the money it would take to repopulate the shrinking herd is more than a little daunting.
Appeal videographer Cassidy Friedman went out to talk to those closest to the historic herd, got a look at the old ladies themselves, but ended up with more questions than answers. Maybe we shouldn’t be asking “will they survive the recession?” but “should they?” — Eve Batey
