It’s a long-awaited homecoming.
A century and a half after being almost driven from extinction, a herd of bison have been released into Banff National Park.
Officials have been taking care of a herd in the remote Panther Valley for a year and a half, preparing to let the pack of 31 roam into Banff’s eastern slopes — which is a 1200 sq km reintroduction zone.
“It’s going to have a huge impact eventually on how wolves interact with their prey,” explained Bill Hunt with Parks Canada. “It’s going to affect songbirds, amphibians. We have a whole suite of monitoring in place to try and track those changes over time.”
The herd will use GPS collars to track their movements across the landscape and their interactions with other native species.
“This is a historic moment,” stated Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna. “Not only are bison a keystone species and an icon of Canada’s history, they are an integral part of local Indigenous culture.”
Parks Canada will continue to monitor the herd until 2022 when they will re-visit their plan for bison restoration.
