Riding Mountain National Park

Bison Handling at Lake Audy

Collaboration between Parks Canada and First Nations

WASAGAMING, MB, January 25, 2011 - Viewing the bison at Lake Audy is a memorable experience for many visitors to Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP). This captive herd of 44 animals has the run of its 500 hectare enclosure located in the south central portion of the park. For most of the year, these animals do not require any special attention from resource conservation specialists at the park, but every winter, a bison handling operation takes place to vaccinate the new calves, assess the general health of the animals, and thin out the herd.

“Because the Lake Audy enclosure has limited space, we want to maintain a herd that is visible to the public and that exhibits natural bison behaviours, without overgrazing the area,” explained Angela Spooner, a resource conservation officer with RMNP. “The goal is to maintain a natural age and sex distribution in the herd.”

On January 11, nine animals were removed. At the same time this year’s calves were ear tagged and vaccinated for black leg. This year was also a TB testing year and so that procedure was carried out as well.

There are several reasons why the operation takes place in winter. There is no water at the handling facility so, like bison do in the wild, it is convenient to have the animals eat snow while they are held in the pens. In the heat of the summer, the stress of the operation could cause some animals to overheat. The other factor that makes winter handling easier is that bison can be baited into the capture pen with hay whereas that lure would not work in the summer when they have a ready supply of fresh grass everywhere.

After Spooner has rounded up the herd, the animals are run through a chute and into a squeeze so that they can be safely checked over and so that Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) staff can carry out TB testing. The animals have been tested many times in the past and have been found to be TB-free, but all cattle, elk and bison herds in the area are routinely tested for TB.

First Nations involvement

Members of Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation (KOFN) play an important role in the operation. They assist with all aspects of handling the bison. Parks Canada is always open to expanding the participation of First Nations in this operation because of the significance of bison to their culture, and because of their traditional connection to the land inside the park.
“The bison are a food source that was left to us by our leadership when treaty was made in the late 1800s,” said Chief Norman Bone of KOFN. “Bison, elk, deer, fish. These were our original foods.”

From numbering in the millions across the western plains, bison were nearly wiped out by the early 1900s. Many national parks in western Canada maintained captive bison herds as part of a national conservation effort. They were reintroduced to RMNP in the 1930s. The Lake Audy area was chosen because there was evidence that bison lived on the grasslands there prior to their extirpation.

“When treaty was made, we were given the right to hunt,” said Chief Bone. “Because of the language barrier, what was misunderstood was that the right to hunt really means access to our food source. Having members of our community involved in the bison handling, I look at this as a modern day hunt.”

All heads, hides and meat from this year’s bison operation will be donated to the Coalition of First Nations with Interests in Riding Mountain, which includes KOFN as well as six other First Nations located near the park. Game meat from this year’s other wildlife management operations will be distributed to local area food banks.

History of bison in national parks

Originally, bison were kept in national parks for public appreciation purposes. Most national parks no longer have these observation herds. Parks Canada has shifted its emphasis and currently manages the herd at Lake Audy as a conservation herd, in order to contribute to the species’ genetic diversity.

Parks Canada’s bison all came from the same source in Wainwright, Alberta, in what was then Buffalo National Park. That source herd was later moved to Elk Island National Park. Through genetic testing, it was found that Parks Canada’s bison do not show evidence of domestic cattle genes, meaning that they are pure bison stock unlike some commercial breeds. For a time, some producers crossbred bison with cattle to make the animals more docile. Even today some of the purest looking bison lineages contain cattle genes.

It is understandable why bison producers would have wanted to tame these massive animals. Cows weigh up to 550 kg (1200 lbs), and bulls can tip the scale at up to 800 kg (1800 lbs). There are very good reasons why visitors are instructed to stay in their vehicles while driving through the bison enclosure. These animals are lightning fast, surprisingly agile, and their unpredictable temperaments command the respect of anyone who is familiar with them.

Bison in their environment

Researchers are currently studying the link between bison, grasslands, and the effects of fire in maintaining prairie fescue habitats.

“Fescue prairie needs to be disturbed in order to maintain its diversity,” explains Spooner. “Bison are considered the lawnmowers of nature. Along with the effects of fire, bison help a variety of species to survive and even thrive on the prairie. Not only does their grazing promote the growth of many kinds of plants, through their disturbances they also increase the diversity of animal species such as songbirds, insects, rodents, and prey species in general. Predators such as raptors, fox, coyote, and bears also benefit. For this reason, bison are considered a keystone species.”

While research continues into the bison and the important role they play in the environment, First Nations are also contributing in ever increasing ways to this body of knowledge.

“I remember attending a meeting with elders. The women talked about the men going out to scout for game,” recounts Chief Bone. “We studied everything – animals, plants, weather, stars. Our survival depended on it. This is still relevant today. We’ve always been researchers. We’re just practicing it in a little different way when we do something like go out to Lake Audy and assist with the bison handling operation.”

The emerging field of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) supports this assertion. Environmental scientists are starting to appreciate how First Nations teachings can inform their own investigations. TEK, with its emphasis on practical, day-to-day observations of how species interact with one another and how the environment changes over time, can guide researchers to a deeper understanding of the natural world.

“I’ve embraced a new attitude toward research,” said Chief Bone. “Our people used to resist the researchers and anthropologists who came knocking on our doors to do yet another study of our culture and our way of life. Now I see our people as the original researchers of this land.”

Parks Canada is proud to be a leader in working collaboratively with First Nations on wildlife management issues.

“Bison are a piece of living natural history,” concludes Spooner. “The value of these animals is more than their impressive presence. They play a key role in the natural function of the fescue grasslands. Our responsibility is the active management of the bison and the landscape while recognizing the significance of the bison to the First Nations' way of life.

If you would like more information about this topic or about the bison at Lake Audy, please call 204-848-7275, email info.rmnp@pc.gc.ca, or visit www.pc.gc.ca/riding.