Our Vision

Thundering Ground Bison Ranch promotes a healthy, ecologically diverse land base that supports bison herds to live according to their natural behaviour and instincts.  The ranch provides families with healthy, flavourful and quality meat products produced without interference from artificial growth stimulants and unnatural production practices.  All individuals involved with the ranch, including family, customers and public, are treated with respect while open communication is always encouraged.

About the Ranch

Thundering Ground Bison Ranch saw the arrival of its first plains bison in November of 1999. The herd started with eight yearling females and in the spring of 2000 ‘Caesar' joined the herd as the breeding bull. In the last 10 years the herd has grown to 25 breeding females and 2 breeding bulls ‘Brutus' and ‘Tiberius' (a.k.a. ‘Lacombe Kid'). The ranch is currently located approximately 40 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, Alberta. However, the bison will be on the move soon as a larger piece of property was purchased west of Edmonton that will give the bison more room so they can maintain their natural behaviours. The ranch is growing and it is exciting.

The ranch is owned and managed by me, Larissa. Over the last 15 years I have developed a tremendous passion for bison. It started while attending the University of Alberta and working towards my Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture with an Animal Science major. During the summers I found employment on bison farms and found that I enjoyed working with them. In the summer of 2001 an opportunity presented itself to study reproduction in bison at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. In 2004 I received my Masters of Science degree from the U of S with the research focused on fertility in bison bulls. From 2003 to 2008 I was employed with Alberta's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as a bison and elk production specialist. In the spring of 2008 I decided to stay on the ranch full time to build on my dream to create a herd of bison that will continue carry their natural instincts and behaviours into the future and will preserve the land and its environments as mother nature has designed them.

When not on the ranch I trade the work boots in for hiking boots and the fencing tools in for a camera and head for the mountains. And if you can't find me in the mountains you will have to look in other places less travelled.

About the Bison

At my ranch I am committed to conserving the natural behaviours and instincts of bison that have allowed them to survive in this climate for many, many years.  An aspect of this is that bison on this ranch are now registered as a pure Plains foundation herd.  Animal registration is new in the bison industry and as a foundation stock this herd is now a source of pure Plains bison.  Commercial production has seen the industry cross breed the Plains bison and the Woods bison for economic gain.  This direction of thought is not part of the philosophy of this ranch so steps have been taken to ensure my customers of the commitment to the preservation of the bison.