Bison Begin Migrating Out of Yellowstone National Park

Above, a couple of bison relaxing on a hill in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In a previous post, it was reported that Yellowstone National Park bison delayed migrating out of the park during hunting season.

Now, it has been reported, the bison are starting to migrate out of the park's boundaries.

According to LancasterOnline:

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Bison presence outside of Yellowstone National Park remained low during the last weeks of Montana’s bison hunting season, but the herd’s annual migration and hunter activity recently picked up.

Morgan Jacobsen, a spokesperson for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that on Thursday that wildlife managers have seen some bison make their way out of the park over the last week. Two bison — a bull and a cow — were recently taken by tribal hunters, he said.

In the last week, park officials have observed a herd of approximately 250 animals gather around the Roosevelt Arch on the boundary of the park near Gardiner, Jacobsen said. A handful of animals were seen outside of the park.

Few bison were observed west of the park over the last seven days.

Buffalo Field Campaign, a conservation group that advocates for ending the annual bison cull, regularly tracks bison movements. The group reported on Thursday that at least three bison had been taken by hunters since the weekend, and another five were killed at Beattie Gulch on Wednesday.

“Most of the buffalo in the basin, however, have been dodging bullets and staying alive,” group members wrote.

Approximately 350 to 370 bison were between Mammoth Hot Springs and the north boundary of Yellowstone, and around 70 bison were seen outside of the park on Tuesday, Tim Reid, the bison program coordinator at Yellowstone, said at the time.

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