Yukon counting on hunters to bring down bison numbers

A census done by Environment Yukon indicates the territory's bison population continues to grow well beyond the government's target population for the herd.

The herd is now estimated at almost 1,500 animals. That's an annual growth rate of around 4 per cent, since the last count. The target population is 1,000.

Government biologist Tom Jung says there are concerns about the growing herd displacing animals, such as moose and caribou. But he says studies show the fears are unfounded. 

"Bison and moose and caribou, they eat very different food, they occur in different parts of the landscape in different parts of the year, they use different habitats so we are not able to find a lot of evidence they have a lot of interactions that may affect the moose and caribou negatively," he says.

Jung says bison herd managers are still counting on hunters to help bring the herd size down. To do that, he says hunters need to target more cows, instead of bulls.

More than 140 bison were brought to the Yukon, mostly from Alberta, in the 1980s as part of a plan to safeguard the survival of Wood Bison in Canada.