Yellowstone National Park officials announced bison trapping started on Feb. 13 as a way to reduce the population.
Already, the bison numbers hover around more than 5,000, and the park’s habitat can’t take all those animals.
According to the Boseman Daily Chronicle, Yellowstone bison managers under the Interagency Bison Management Plan agreed to reduce the population by between 600 and 900 animals last year.
The official announcement came on Feb. 22.
Trapping Effort Underway
Officials said they’re trapping bison on the park’s northern border at Stephens Creek. As soon as they head past the park’s physical boundaries, the hungry animals get captured in corrals near Gardiner, Mont.
The newspaper reported that Yellowstone Park officials did not count the number of trapped bison. The non-quarantined animals go to the slaughterhouse. Native American tribes benefit from the culled bison, getting meat and hides.
Last Wednesday, the newspaper reported that one group counted 23 adult bison at the Stephens Creek facility. Buffalo Field Campaign, a group promoting free-roaming wide bison, said another 11 adults were caught the next day.
Officials Say Bison Numbers High
Park biologists met in Missoula this past December and estimated that Yellowstone Park bison came out to about 5,400.
Montana officials don’t like bison in their state because of brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can pose a risk to livestock and, in some cases, humans. Those high numbers call for annual culling.
In addition to slaughterhouse bison shipping, the Bison Conservation Transfer Program and tribal/state hunting are other ways to cut down on the park’s numbers.
According to the National Park Service, Yellowstone and APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) sent 93 bison to the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in 2019, 11 in 2020, and 50 in 2021. The service also said that the Bison Conservation Transfer program has led to the most significant transfer of Yellowstone bison among Native American Tribes in history.
Several issues affect bison migration factors in the area. One possible reason for the high numbers this year is that there was no trapping last year. The animals did not make an annual migration before the calving season. Last year, low and high temperatures were a prime source for last year’s delay.
Conservation At Yellowstone Pays Off
Rick Wallen told the Gillette (Wyo.) News-Record that the recovery of the bison was the top American feat by scientists, wildlife managers, and citizens in 2018. The animal was on the brink of extinction.
Wallen, who was the park’s chief bison biologist at the time, also said the bison recovery was more significant than the Yellowstone area grizzly bear, the black-footed ferret, and the sage grouse recoveries.
At one point, the newspaper said there were only 23 bison in the early 20th century. In 2018, the Defenders of Wildlife conservation organization estimated 500,000 bison in North America.