Photo by Whitehorse Star
TIME WINDING DOWN – The season for hunting bison in the Yukon will end on March 31. They were first transplanted here 25 years ago.
Hunters have taken 132 bison so far, figures show
With two weeks to go in the hunting season for wood bison, records indicate 132 of the animals have been harvested so far.
With two weeks to go in the hunting season for wood bison, records indicate 132 of the animals have been harvested so far.
Wildlife officials estimate two thirds have been bulls.
Hunting regulations for the animals were relaxed last summer as an attempt to increase the harvest in the ongoing effort to reduce or at least keep the population in check.
This season's target harvest is 170. There were 150 bison taken last season.
A census conducted last summer put the overall count at 1,151, or more than twice the desired population.
Bison were first transplanted to the Yukon in the mid-1980s to assist with what was then – and still remains – a threatened species worldwide.
The original goal was to keep the herd at a maximum of 500 animals to minimize the impact on habitat for the indigenous moose and caribou.
But with no natural predators, the population quickly grew, and in 1998, the Yukon government opened up the first harvest.
This season will end March 31.
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Comments (1)
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francias pillman on Mar 18, 2010 at 7:29 am
"and still remains – a threatened species worldwide"
But hey, keep shooting them. When will humans wake up to the fact that they don't have the intellectual capacity to manage animals. Humans prove over and over that they have no business in determining how many animals belong in a certain area. I can't wait for the day when there are no wild animals left in this world. It will be you standing there with a stupid look on your face, confused.