![]() ![]() Endnote 1 Bison in one form or another have lived on the North American continent for tens of thousands of years. Siberian and North American bison had a common maternal ancestor which lived 160,000 years ago she would have been a steppe bison (Bison priscus) with a second hump and large, curved horns. The bison that live today in North America originally evolved in Eurasia before migrating across to North America via the Bering Land Bridge during one of the past ice ages, 130,000-75,000 years ago. Bison from Canadian national parks have been used to start or supplement conservation herds all across North America – and beyond. However, for generations, Canadian national parks have played a leading role in bison conservation projects. Over the last century, bison have faced many challenges, including limited habitat and the threat of disease. The Canadian government took an active role in purchasing bison from private individuals who were raising them, and founded multiple conservation herds in national parks to protect them. ![]() While bison once roamed the continent of North America in the tens of millions, the nineteenth century saw their numbers reduced to less than a thousand individuals scattered in isolated herds. The purpose of this document is to draw together these disparate threads to form a cohesive narrative of the bison herds managed by Canada. ![]() While much has been written about the history of bison and Indigenous peoples, the destruction of the great bison herds in the nineteenth century, and individual conservation herds, there are few works that speak of the Parks Canada bison conservation herds as a whole. Like Distant Thunder is a genealogical history of the bison herds of Parks Canada. Through live transfers to establish display herds and other conservation herds, Parks Canada has supported bison across North America for over a century, bringing them back from the brink of extinction. A number of national parks have been founded to protect bison and many more have since reintroduced bison long after they were extirpated from the region. The first display herd of bison was placed in Banff in 1897, the seed herd of plains bison arrived in Elk Island National Park in 1907, and Wood Buffalo National Park was founded in 1922 to protect the last wild, free-ranging herd of wood bison in the world. The Canadian parks system has been actively involved in protecting bison for over 100 years. The continued preservation of bison is one of Parks Canada’s greatest success stories. Introduction: Over 100 Years of Bison Conservation © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Chief Executive Officer of the Parks Canada Agency, 2017 Scott Mair / © Parks Canada ![]()
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