Nearly one-fourth of the buffalo have died at the state-owned Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, home to one of the oldest surviving wild buffalo herds.
A new disease is decimating buffalo herds across the state and has prompted the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to cancel its annual buffalo auction, typically held in mid-November.
The animals are infected with Mycoplasma bovis, a bacterium that causes pneumonia, mastitis and arthritis in cattle. It was first detected in some U.S. cattle in the 1960s.
For buffalo, it is especially virulent.
“They don’t have any prior exposure or resistance,” said Cliff Peterson, manager of the Maxwell refuge. “For buffalo, it’s pretty lethal.”
Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, in northwest McPherson County, is home to the state’s largest buffalo herd, which until a few weeks ago had 200 animals.
Since the disease struck, 47 have died and another three may have the disease.
Mycoplasma is among the smallest of bacteria, and other members of the genus can cause pneumonia and pelvic inflammatory disease in humans. In cattle, M. bovis causes respiratory problems and mastitis (udder inflammation).
The Maxwell Wildlife Refuge was created in 1859, when John Gault Maxwell drove a herd of bison and elk onto his land near Canton, Kansas. The land is now state-owned, and a local group runs tour buses through the refuge’s 2,800 acres.