Just before Christmas, Plains bison returned to an expanse of prairie encompassed by Grasslands National Park near Val Marie, Sask. The young animals were trucked from Elk Island National Park in north-central Alberta and released to the land once trodden by their bison ancestors.
It is fitting. Much of Alberta and Saskatchewan was in the original, natural range of Plains bison. Animals numbered in the tens of millions. Then settlement, and a disdain for animals available in such plenty, took a huge toll. By 1888, an estimated eight bison existed in the wild in Canada. Eight, from a number that, put nose to tail, would once have circled the equator twice. The carnage and waste of these perfectly adapted prairie dwellers
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is hard to fathom.
Wes Olson is a senior warden at Elk Island National Park, where the source herd of the newest Saskatchewan bison immigrants yet roams.
In 2005, his fascination with bison led him to publish Portraits of the Bison: An Illustrated Guide to Bison Society. It’s an easily read and understood book about bison social structures, age and gender identification, and the care that should be taken around these clever animals.
According to Olson, more people are injured each year by bison than by grizzly bears. One quick tip, until you can read the entire book: watch the tail, which is the barometer of a bison’s mood. If it’s raised into the vertical, make tracks in the other direction, Olson advises.
He quotes a fellow from Custer State Park, South Dakota, on the subject: “There’s only two reasons why a buffalo raises his tail. The first is to charge, and the second is to discharge.”
It is a pleasure to hear of bison repopulation and to see bison in their natural habitat. They are also fascinating to observe at the many domestic bison operations in Western Canada. At one such place, Prairie Buffalo near Taber, Alta., owner Len Ross once related a memorable story about bison and first impressions.
He and his wife were entertaining the parents of their son’s fiancée, a native Indian. As farm stock are wont to do at inopportune times, the bison escaped the pen that evening and wandered past the house.
Ross said his future in-laws were much impressed at the extent of the Ross hospitality in saluting native culture and making their guests feel welcome.
May the new inhabitants of Grasslands National Park feel equally welcome and flourish in their new home.
For more information on Olson’s book, see www.producer.com.
