DENVER – Denver’s annual bison auction reined in more than $59,000 for the city this year, the most in the event’s 32-year history.
The Denver Post reports that officials from the city Parks and Recreation Department auctioned off 23 bison Friday.
This year’s profits marked a new record for the department and were 22 percent more than last year’s $48,000.
The highest-priced bison was a 10-month-old male that sold for $3,600.
According to city officials, the group of grass-fed bison is related to the last wild bison herd in the U.S., located in Yellowstone.
Maintaining the Denver herd is part of an effort to help preserve the bison, which were nearly wiped out in the 1880s.
The profits from the auction fund the animals’ food and veterinarian costs.