By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Hays added a new resident as of Tuesday night.
A new baby bison was born at Frontier Park, marking three babies born this spring.
The park is home to four adult bison cows and one bull.
The bull is Ace. The white cow is Blizzard, and the three brown cows are Black Beauty, Starlight and Spot.
On April 13, a male calf, Firecracker, was born.
On Saturday, Blizzard gave birth to a white male calf that has been named Victor E. Tuesday evening, a female calf named Bisquit was born.
The park staff believes the fourth bison cow is also pregnant and will give birth at any time.
Bison, the national mammal, is the largest mammal in North America.
A bison bull can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand 6 feet tall.
Females can weigh about 1,000 pounds and reach a maximum height of about five feet. The calves weigh 30 to 70 pounds at birth.
Bison can live to be about 20 years old.
Bison calves tend to be born from late March through May and are reddish. Their coats slowly turn brown.
In the wild, white calves are rare— about 1 in 10 million births. However, they can be more common with selective breeding.
A white bison is considered sacred or spiritually significant in several Native American cultures and is considered both a blessing and a warning in those traditions.
Jeff Boyle, Hays Parks director, warned visitors not to cross the fences at Frontier Park for safety reasons.
In addition to their size, bison can run up to 35 miles per hour.