MADE IN BANFF AGAIN
First bison born in 140 years
Three new furry beasts are the first “made in Banff ” bison calves to be born in the Banff National Park backcountry in more than 140 years.
Earlier in the year, when Parks Canada did some collaring, veterinarians checked out the bison and found that nine of the 10 females were pregnant.
“We’ve been expecting calves this spring, but it’s certainly been a little later than we saw last year,” said Bill Hunt, resource conservation manager with Parks Canada.
“But because these are young cows, we also anticipated the calving dates might be stretched out over a longer period this year.
“The first couple were born July 15 and the last of the three was born on the 19th.”
If they’re lucky, six more calves will be born in the near future.
These new calves have been dubbed as “made in Banff.”
The original herd of 16 saw 10 females and six males brought in from Elk Island National Park about two years ago.
Last spring, each of the females had a calf, growing the herd to 26 bison.
“Those cows were bred by mature bulls back in Elk Island. That was an important part of making sure of having lots of genetic diversity in the herd,” said Hunt.
“Whereas this year, the cows
Bison calves hit the ground ready to roll just because of their history as a herd species and (prairie) nomads.
were only able to breed with the six young bulls, so these bison calves were actually conceived in Banff as well.”
The yearlings born last year are still sticking around their moms, making many of the cows secondtime mothers.
Hunt said this is a sign of a healthy herd, with the calves ready to hit the ground running.
“Bison calves hit the ground ready to roll just because of their history as a herd species and nomads on the prairies,” said Hunt.
“It’s not like elk, wherein elk when they’re calving, the mother will drop that young calf and it just curls up in a ball and stays hidden in the forest floor for a day or two until they are able to get their strength and be able to move with their mother.”
The resiliency of the calves will be useful, once predators realize the bison are prey.
“We certainly had grizzlies walk by and wolves walk by the paddock,” said Hunt.
“But the calves in there are riding close with their mothers so no one has shown interest at this point.
“The one encounter we witnessed, the bear and the bison were both a bit spooked by each other and took off in opposite directions and then stopped and looked and sniffed, wondering what they’d just seen.”
If all goes well by the end of the calving season, the herd will have increased to 35.