Bison ‘made in Banff’ return after 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 east of Edmonton 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 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.

If all goes well by the end of the calving season, the herd will have increased to 35.