After 100 years gone, bison back roaming Banff. Here's why

Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 10:32 AM - Bison are a potent symbol of the rugged outdoors, but for more than a century, they have been absent from large parts of Canada's west.

Now the once-widespread species has an expanded toehold in another corner of the region, thanks to Parks Canada, which has released 16 of the animals from to Panther Valley in Alberta's iconic Banff National Park. They will dwell in an enclosed pasture in the park for about 16 months, after which Parks Canada will release them in the summer of 2018. After that, their range will be some 1,200 km² in the park's eastern slopes.

The bison, which CBC says included several pregnant two-year-old females, were trucked in within containers from Elk Island National Park near Edmonton, then airlifted the rest of the way (you can see the process in the video above).

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Bison once roamed the North American west in their millions (up to 60 million at the peak, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society), before being hunted to near extinction in the 19th Century, vanishing from many locations. Aside from being an integral part of western ecosystems, First Nations relied on them for sustenance. 

Conservation efforts have been ongoing, and in Canada, around 2,200 plains bison and about 11,000 wood bison remain, with the largest population in Wood Buffalo National Park in far northern Alberta.

"The reintroduction of bison is not only ecologically important, but it has a great spiritual meaning for Indigenous Peoples," Parks Canada staff said in a release. "It provides a first step of reintroducing bison but also bringing back that connection Indigenous Peoples have with bison and with Banff National Park."

SOURCES: Parks Canada | CBC News | Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada