Nature Canada

Could the Wood Bison be making an Alaskan Comeback?

Photo by Doug Linstrand, courtesy of AWCC

 

Plans are in the works for the Wood Bison to be reintroduced to Alaska, where it has been extirpated for the last 100 years.

The Wood Bison, northern cousin of the plains bison, is North America’s largest land mammal, weighing approximately 10 to 15 per cent more than its counterpart. Its distinguishing features include an enormous head, broad shoulder humps and the shaggy brown fur covering its shoulders and front legs.
The Wood Bison was originally found in much of the boreal forest regions of Alaska, Yukon, western Northwest Territories, north eastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, and north western Saskatchewan. Never as common as its cousin the Plains Bison, its population was estimated at 168,000 in the early 1800s.

Unregulated hunting, the westward expansion of European settlers, disease and the fur trade caused populations to decline to near extinction. In 1893 the population was estimated at 250. The Wood Bison slowly recovered and reached heights of 1500 to 2000 by 1922, but only because governments stepped in to ensure its protection. Such attempts included giving the North West Mounted Police authority and responsibility to enforce the Buffalo Protection Act in 1897 and the establishment of Wood Buffalo National Park. However, the Wood Bison was still regarded as extremely rare by 1940 and it was feared that it had actually disappeared as a subspecies; as a result of interbreeding with Plains Bison.

Fortunately, in 1957 Canadian Wildlife Service biologists discovered a herd of about 200 pure Wood Bison in the Needle Lake, Nyarling River region of north western Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta. In 1963, 18 animals were captured and released in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary in the North West territories and now known as the Mackenzie herd, the world’s largest free-ranging herd of disease-free wood bison. Another 21 wood bison were captured in 1965 and released in Elk Island National Park. The Elk Island herd was used to form the Nahanni herd, which now numbers 400 animals.

In 1988, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) changed the subspecies’ conservation status from “endangered” to “threatened”. In the US the Wood Bison is listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Currently there are about 4,000 Wood Bison in the wild, and they are all found in Canada.

On June 17, 2008, 53 Canadian Wood Bison were transferred from Elk Island National Park in Alberta, to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) near Anchorage where they have been quarantined for the past two years (to ensure they are free of disease before being released into the wild).

The first group of wood bison were originally expected to be released to their native habitat, Minto Flats, northwest of Fairbanks this year but is now planned for 2012. The delay could be related to Doyon Limited’s concerns that the bison reintroduction would interfere with their plans to drill for natural gas in the Nenana Basin. James Mery, Doyon’s senior vice president of lands and natural resources was quoted in an article saying “We’re firmly opposed to reintroduction where there may be any conflict with resource development,” and would “vigorously oppose” any effort to transplant wood bison to Minto Flats or Yukon Flats.

But for now and if all goes to plan the Wood Bison may be making a comeback to Alaska after having disappeared for more than a century. Keep your fingers crossed and here’s hoping the wood bison will make a permanent return to its ancient Alaskan range!

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