Yellowstone bison numbers fall

Fri., March 28, 2008

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

BOZEMAN – The bison population in Yellowstone National Park has dropped to 3,000, down from an estimated 4,700 last summer, according to a recent aerial survey.

More than a thousand bison have been shipped to slaughter this winter under a program to prevent the spread of brucellosis to cattle. The contagious disease can cause abortions in pregnant bison, elk and cattle.

This winter, 1,087 bison were shipped to slaughter and 166 were killed by hunters. A few bison were euthanized or died of injuries acquired during handling.

Al Nash, a spokesman for the National Park Service, said biologists estimate that 400 have died naturally of winter-related causes, bringing the population estimate to 3,000 animals.

But the population has recovered from large slaughters in the past. In the winter of 1996-97, 1,084 were killed, and during the winter of 2005, 1,016 were killed.

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