Download INCLUDE BISON

WHAT’S GOING ON
2 SUBSPECIES
PLAINS BISON
(Bison bison bison)
Last STATUS
ASSESSMENT:
(Bison bison athabascae)
THREATENED
(COSEWIC 2013)
STATS:
WOOD BISON
Special Concern
2,500
• 
in Canada
•  NOT formally listed as AT
RISK IN CANADA so
•  9,000 in Canada
•  OCCURS IN THE WILD
NOWHERE ELSE
(both subspecies)
POPULATION
NO RECOVERY PLAN
Extreme
Overhunting
>30
MILLION
IN NORTH
AMERICA
Captive Bison
Wild Plains Bison
ALMOST GONE
REINTRODUCED
MILLION
on multiple occasions
IN NORTH
AMERICA
Only 250 Wood Bison left
1800s
1888
0.3
Late 1800s & Early 1900s
PRESENT
TIME
The American Bison is a
Keystone Species
e.g., Plains Bison maintain prairie ecosystems by
grazing, dispersing seeds, wallowing, & fertilizing.
Some recent increases, but Plains
Bison PREDICTED TO DECLINE.
The biggest threats to both subspecies:
DISEASE, HABITAT FRAGMENTATION
& POPULATION CONTROL
(due to intolerance of bison because of
disease transfer with cattle, property damage,
& perceived competition with other game)
Many species are specially ADAPTED to
the mosaic environment bison create.
Burrowing
Owl
McCown’s
Longspur
Sprague’s
Pipit
Baird’s
Sparrow
WHAT YOU CAN DO
If you own land near
bison populations
CONSIDER MANAGING IT TO
INCLUDE BISON
CLICK HERE FOR RESOURCES &
FREE BISON-FRIENDLY FENCING
Support or join bison restoration projects, such as:
•  The Iinnii Initiative to bring bison back to Blackfeet First Nations
•  The new cooperative management plan near Prince Albert, AB
•  The Ecosystem Restoration Project in Grasslands National Park, SK