BILLINGS, Mont. — Yellowstone National Park officials have transferred 55 of the park’s wild bison to a Montana Indian reservation under a program that aims to establish new disease-free herds of the animals.
Park officials said they completed the transfer of the bison, also known as buffalo, to the Fort Peck Reservation on Friday.
It’s part of an effort to conserve a species that once roamed North America by the millions. Officials also want to curb the government-sponsored slaughter of bison that wander outside the park over concerns about the spread of disease.
More than 10,000 park bison were slaughtered under a government-sponsored program or killed by hunters over the past several decades. Officials plan to capture more bison this winter to keep the population from growing.
The Associated Press
