You Won’t Believe How Many Baby Bison Were Just Born Near Denver

As winter thaws away in Colorado, new life emerges. Flowers, leaves, and babies. Birthing season is well underway for much of Colorado's wildlife, and one refuge has seen nearly three dozen new babies in the past few weeks.

According to KDVR, there have been 31 bison calves born as of Tuesday, April 29, and more are expected. Less than a week ago, there were only 11 bison calves born at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge just outside of city of Denver.

Colorado's Rocky Mountain Arsenal is a Great Place to See Bison

The 15,000-acre refuge was established in 1992 with the 1992 Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge Act signed by Congress. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Army turned the area into a chemical weapons manufacturing facility to support World War 2.

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Production at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal started to slow down at the end of the war, and areas of the facilities were leased to Shell Chemical Company for the production of agricultural chemicals. Years later, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal was used for Cold War weapons production and demilitarization according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Today, Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge is home to many animals, including bison, bald eagles, the endangered black-footed ferret, and more.

READ MORE: How To Identify & Handle Colorado’s Common Wild Animal Encounters

The addition of the new bison calves should bring Rocky Mountain Arsenal's bison herd numbers up to approximately 220. However, the National Parks Service officials will not have an official number on the amount of bison in the herd until the annual count this fall.