Wood Bison

The Species
The wood bison of the northern boreal forest looks a lot like the familiar plains bison but is larger in size, has longer, darker hair and horns that turn upward more sharply.

With a weight that can reach up to one tonne, this is the largest land animal in North America.

The Problem
In the early 1800s, an estimated 168,000 wood bison roamed what is now northwest Canada.

After the introduction of firearms the wood bison was hunted to near extinction.

By 1891 its numbers had been reduced to 300 animals.

What is Being Done
In 1975 federal, territorial and provincial governments started a cooperative project aimed at re-establishing this species in its former range.

Since then, seven captive breeding herds and three free-roaming herds have been established in western Canada.

The Yukon herd was started in 1986 when 34 adult wood bison were transplanted from Elk Island National Park in Alberta to the Nisling River valley west of Carmacks.

The bison were kept in a 6 kml fenced enclosure for two years while they adjusted to the new climate and feed.

In 1988, the first group of 18 bison were released into the wild.

By 1992 another 172 bison had been released. The herd's progress is monitored by annual surveys. It has grown at an average rate of 15 to 20% per year and is currently estimated at about 500 head. A new management plan had been released in 1998, which stipulates that the herd will be held at a size of 500 for the time being, and that special-permit hunting will be used to keep it at that level.