Yukon bison harvest 2nd highest on record

Warm weather and long late-winter days may have helped Yukon hunters harvest a near-record number of bison this year.

Earlier reports from Environment Yukon suggested hunters were not having much success this past winter. Even butchers in Whitehorse were asking where the bison were.

But, in the end, it turned out to be the second-largest harvest on record.

Government biologist Tom Jung is happy with the numbers.

"This year there was 174 bison taken, and that's above our 150 minimum threshold. And we had 45 per cent of the harvest that was cows, so that puts us in a pretty good position this year," Jung said.

Bison hunting in Yukon is encouraged and promoted, because the Aishihik herd is larger than officials would like. Wood bison were introduced to the Yukon wild less than 20 years ago, and biologists want to control their impact on the land, and other species.

Last year, was a record 181 bison were taken in Yukon, but Jung said only 33 per cent of them were cows. Jung is pleased that more cows were taken this year.

He said, with this year's harvest, the department is now closer to meeting its harvest management target.