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Transcript:

[Standard Parks Canada Intro]

[Bison in a large field]

Dr. Stephen Flemming:
To me, I think what makes a bison special is that they are the very symbol of the prairies. I’m an Easterner myself, and when I came out here, living in the national park, having bison in my back yard was the most extraordinary thing for me. These are very stoic animals. They’re quite bright. Ah…They interact with you, and ah, they’re just a joy to have around. They…they own this place and we are their visitors.

Text: A Bison Homecoming: The Elk Island National Park plains bison transfer to American Prairie Reserve

[Dr. Stephen Flemming on camera, then bison in field.]

Dr. Stephen Flemming:
One hundred years ago, about three hundred and fifty bison came to Elk Island National Park. And they came here from Montana. They were the last bison in North America really.

Text: Superintendant of Elk Island National Park Dr. Stephen Flemming

Dr. Stephen Flemming:
And that were genetically pure. This year we have the privilege of sending some of those bison right back to where they came from over one hundred years ago. And we’re very excited about that.

[Bryce Christensen on camera then bison running through coral]

Text: Reserve Manager, American Prairie Reserve Bryce Christensen

Bryce Christensen:
We’re trying to build a wild life reserve in North-Eastern Montana. Ah… A large scale, fully functioning eco-system probably to the tune of three to three and a half point acres when we’re done. We’re currently at a one hundred and twenty three thousand acres and have bison on fourteen thousand of those acres right now. So we’re trying to grow our herd. This is our second importation from Elk Island National Park. We did this two years ago with ninety-four animals and are taking seventy-one animals today.

[Dr. Darcia Nakonechny-Kostiuk on camera then bison running through coral]

Text: District Veterinarian Edmonton, Canadian Food Inspection Agency Dr. Darcia Nakonechny - Kostiuk

Dr. Darcia Nakonechny - Kostiuk:
Elk Island Park does a fantastic job when they’re handling their animals. They do a really, really good job on making sure everything is moved safely and quietly and as efficiently as possible to reduce the amount of stress on the animals.

[Brett Sarchuk working, pulling gates - then on camera and back to working]

Text: Resource Management and Public Safety Specialist, Elk Island National Park Brett Sarchuk

Brett Sarchuk:
Today I’m going to be helping move the calves into the main shoot area. Split them up a bit so we load them correctly in the truck and ah…I’ll be accompanying to Montana and just making sure the transfer runs smoothly and all the bison are healthy.

[media gathering around spokespeople]

Dr. Stephen Flemming:
Well I’d like to welcome everybody here today to Elk Island National Park of Canada. This is a special event and we’ll hear a few words about what is going on today.

[Mr. Earl Dreeshen on camera then bison in field]

Text: Member of Parliament, Red Deer Mr. Earl Dreeshen

Mr. Earl Dreeshen:
Approximately a hundred years ago, the plains bison was an endangered species. Today, thanks to the great conservation success stories and strong partnerships, Elk Island National Park is still home to herds of plains bison and wood bison who roam freely throughout the park. Today, we celebrate the park’s latest collaboration in bison conservation: the transfer of seventy young plains bison to the American Prairie Reserve in North-East Montana, which is a bison homecoming.

[Dr. Stephen Flemming on camera then bison in coral]

Dr. Stephen Flemming:
We do it because of two reasons. One: we’re a conservation organization and we are working toward the active recovery of bison. And two: this is a relatively small fenced national park. And ah, each year we have surplus animals. We have to keep our populations at a size that is sustainable. And so it’s a win-win. We reduce our herd and ah, we move the animals to new places for the populations to grow.

[Bison move into truck, Bryce Christensen on camera then bison move through coral]

Bryce Christensen:
And they really adapt to our herd very well. So we’ll keep them in quarantine. They’ve been in quarantine here for sixty days, away from the Elk Island herd. They’ll be quarantined down in Montana away from our herd. And it’ll pass the TB-Brucell (tuberculosis-Brucellosis) test for the second time, and then we will able to re-introduce them to our herd.

[Dr. Darcia Nakonechny-Kostiuk on camera then in group filling out paperwork]

Dr. Darcia Nakonechny - Kostiuk:
The process has been umm, a couple of months. Umm, first it’s the logistics and timing having to be worked out, and there’s definitely a lot of permits and a lot of umm certification that needs to be done.

[Bryce Christensen on camera then bison in field]

Bryce Christensen:
We’re in the tenth year now of our American Prairie reserve and probably a twenty-five, thirty year project. Looking forward to the next twenty years and building this thing into a large three, three and a half million acre wild life reserve. Open to the public forever so…

[Dr. Stephen Flemming on camera]

Dr. Stephen Flemming:
You know, I have a very privileged role at Elk Island. Being the superintendant at this place. I work with staff that are incredibly dedicated and ah… I don’t know, it’s hard to put into words, but they care about these animals. And we all do. It’s special.

[Bryce Christensen on camera]

Bryce Christensen:
We all thank you very much for this opportunity to get these animals and to start growing our herd down in Montana.

[truck full of bison drives away]

Text: A Living Legacy.

Standard Parks Canada Outro