Banff bison reintroduction a success: Parks Canada
Posted June 22, 2023 7:22 am.
Last Updated June 23, 2023 4:51 pm.
Six years after 16 bison were dropped into Banff National Park, the herd has grown close to 80.
According to a Parks Canada report, the 16 animals were transplanted from Elk Island National Park in 2017 and “adapted quickly to Banff’s mountain environment.”
It says 18 babies were born this spring.
@ParksCanada is pleased to announce that bison roam free in @BanffNP following the Plains Bison Reintroduction Pilot.
We thank everyone for their ongoing support and input on this reintroduction effort. Check out the final report on the pilot here: https://t.co/gW3N9qrk5z pic.twitter.com/eoIl5nVyt8
— Banff National Park, Parks Canada (@BanffNP) June 19, 2023
The growth rate suggests the population could reach a point in the next decade where extinction from random catastrophic events like disease outbreaks or extreme weather events are unlikely, it adds.
Parks Canada explains this is a “significant accomplishment” because plains bison occur in just five other isolated wild subpopulations and currently live on less than one per cent of their original area in North America.
“Banff National Park, with its full suite of native large carnivores, represents a unique and rare opportunity where this can still happen,” it explained.
The report says the population could reach 200 by the end of the decade.
This is good news for many, with Parks Canada reporting positive support from visitors and recreationists — noting there have been no adverse or aggressive interactions with the animals and backcountry users.
While bison originally roamed in staggering numbers in the prairies, they were nearly made extinct by overhunting in the 1800s.
