The Catalina Island bison herd has existed for nearly a century. This herd of American Bison roam and were supposedly first imported to California's Catalina Island in 1924 for the silent film version of Zane Grey's Western tale, The Vanishing American. However, the 1925 version of "The Vanishing American" does not contain any bison and shows no terrain that resembles Catalina, according to Jim Watson, columnist for The Catalina Islander newspaper. According to Watson, an October 6, 1938 article in The Catalina Islander attributes the bison arrival to the filming of "The Thundering Herd," a silent film released in 1925. Over the decades, the bison herd grew to as many as 600 individuals. The population currently numbers approximately 150. Biologists found that the American Bison of Santa Catalina Island are not purebred; their ancestry includes genes from the domesticated cow. The island's bison herd is maintained and monitored by the Catalina Island Conservancy. Although the bison are not native to the island, they play an important role in the cultural fabric of Catalina. Therefore, the Conservancy has no plans to remove the animals from the island. Controlling the bison population, however, remains important for Catalina's overall ecological health. In the past, bison were routinely removed and sent to the mainland to auction. In 2004, the Conservancy partnered with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the Tongva, and the Lakota tribe on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. A hundred bison were relocated "home" to the Great Plains. In the early 21st century however, another solution was implemented. The Conservancy initiated a scientific study that determined that a herd of between 150 and 200 would be good for the bison, and ecologically sound for the island. Beginning in 2009, the herd was given animal birth control to maintain the population at around 150 animals. On Wednesday, August 26, 2015, a contract worker from American Conservation Experience was injured by a bison while working near Tower Peak on Catalina Island. On Saturday, February 17, 2018, a man camping at the Little Harbor Campground was gored by a bison.
