From the mid-1930s, Wood Buffalo National Park sustained a total population of about 12,000 for four decades under a management regime that included wolf control and periodic slaughters. The number of bison started to decline when a policy of non-intervention was adopted in the 1960s. Bison are protected from hunting within the bounds of the park. They are infected with bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis.  In March 1999, 2100 animals were counted in the park. A survey conducted in 2002 counted about 4000 animals.

Bison are found throughout Wood Buffalo National Park in several free-roaming herds. Distributions change and can be affected by natural occurrences. For example, spring flooding in 1998 forced bison to move out of the Peace-Athabasca delta. 

Economic Use

No bison hunting is permitted within the boundaries of Wood Buffalo National Park.

Management

Bison within the park are infected with both tuberculosis and brucellosis. In 1995, a Bison Research and Containment Program (BRCP) was initiated to ensure the diseases were properly researched and contained within WBNP. In 1999, a Risk Assessment was carried out to determine the risk of infection with tuberculosis or brucellosis to cattle and disease-free captive and free-ranging bison.

To prevent the spread of these diseases to uninfected herds outside the park, a Bison Control Area was created. Any bison found within the Bison Control Area are quickly removed.

There are presently no habitat improvements or prescribed burns carried out in the park. Fires occurring within the park are allowed to burn as part of the natural cycle but are fought if they are within 10 km of the park border.

The bison population in Wood Buffalo National Park decreased dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of disease, predation and natural events. However, it remained relatively stable from 1994 through 1999. The most recent population survey in 2002 estimated the total population within the park to be 4000 bison. The reason for this dramatic increase is not known.

Although wood bison herds in Wood Buffalo National Park are compromised by disease, conservation efforts in other parts of Canada have achieved considerable success towards recovery of the subspecies. Wood bison salvaged from Wood Buffalo National Park in the 1960s, and their descendants, have been transplanted to establish five free-roaming herds in Canada. The possibility of establishing new free-ranging herds of wood bison looks promising.  

For more information on the Wood Buffalo National Park - Bison Research and Containment Program (BRCP), go here.

For more information on Risk Assessment on Bovine Brucellosis and Tuberculosis in Wood Buffalo National Park and area, go here.