Elk Island National Park of Canada elk and bison recovery programmes

08/04/2007 00:00:00 The plains bison that now call Grasslands National Park of Canada home were shipped from Elk Island National Park of Canada in December 2005. Located less than an hour away from Edmonton, Elk Island National Park protects the wilderness of the aspen parkland, one of the most endangered habitats in Canada.

Established in 1906 as Canada's first Dominion wildlife refuge, Elk Island National Park was fenced to protect one of the last herds of free roaming elk in Canada. This beautiful oasis is now home to herds of free roaming plains bison, wood bison, moose, deer, and elk. Also boasting over 250 species of birds, the park is a bird watcher's paradise. With no large predators to keep elk and bison populations in check, a surplus builds up. This surplus must be removed annually to maintain the ecological integrity of the park. Elk Island has a long and successful history of relocating disease-free ungulates dating as far back as 1937. Elk Island is used as a source herd for re-establishing elk and bison populations in traditional ranges throughout North America.

Elk Island National Park has provided surplus disease-free plains bison throughout North America since 1967. In the past, Elk Island bison have been relocated to areas in British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Most recently in April 2006, 30 wood bison were transported to the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation. The wood bison closely resemble the prehistoric steppe bison, which have been absent from this area for over 5000 years. Elk Island is also renowned for its conservation role in repopulating areas where elk used to exist or in supplementing existing herds. Since 1937, over 4,000 elk have been relocated to various areas in Canada and the United States. Many of these areas have now established viable elk populations.

Over the last several years, Elk Island has provided elk to a wide range of areas, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the Yukon in Canada, and Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina in the United States.