Billionaire seeks 88 Yellowstone animals for their pure genes

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- Billionaire Ted Turner is getting 88 bison from Yellowstone National Park from a faltering Montana program that was supposed to put the disease-free animals on public or tribal lands.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Joe Maurier announced the decision Feb. 2.

The animals were spared several years ago from a periodic slaughter of bison leaving Yellowstone because of worries about animal disease. They're now in a joint federal-state quarantine compound in southern Montana's Paradise Valley.

Turner will care for the animals for five years and in return wants 75 percent of their offspring, an estimated 188 bison. He already owns more than 50,000 bison but wants the Yellowstone animals because of their pure genetics.