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No luck in search for escaped Yellowstone bison

In this Aug. 3, 2016, file photo, a large bison blocks traffic as tourists take photos of the animals in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Park officials discovered Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2017, that more than 52 bison had escaped from a containment area through a fence that had been cut open. The bison had not yet been found Wednesday, officials said. (Matthew Brown / Associated Press)
Associated Press

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – Yellowstone National Park hasn’t found any of the more than 50 bison that escaped through a cut fence at a containment area where they were being prepared for transfer to the Fort Peck Tribes.

Park staff discovered Tuesday that 52 of the animals had escaped the Stephens Creek facility near Gardiner, and the National Park Service has begun a criminal investigation. Two dozen of the bison had been in confinement since March 2016, and the other 28 since March 2017.

They were being isolated to assure they were free of brucellosis, a disease that can cause livestock to miscarry.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said he is “absolutely heartbroken” for the tribes that have been working with the park and state for years to repatriate the bison.

It appears someone cut the fence with bolt cutters.