Lehigh County Commissioners have given final approval for transfer of a male bison from Trexler Nature Preserve to the Catoctin Zoo and Wildlife Preserve, Thurmont, Md.

The male bison, born in 2013, is the result of a managed breeding program started in 2011.

The young male would predictably challenge the elder male bison and cause problems for the herd.

When the bison arrives at the Catoctin Zoo, he will be greeted by an existing herd of five females ranging in age from 1-and-half to 7 years old. They live in a 5- to 6-acre enclosure and have access to a larger pasture of about 35 acres, according to a spokesman for the Catoctin Zoo and Wildlife Preserve.

Lehigh County’s Department of General Services has responsibility for maintaining the preserve’s bison herd which numbers 12 bison.

The Trexler Nature Preserve is one of the many legacies of Gen. Henry C. Trexler (1854-1933).