Finding bison within Buffalo Pound Provincial Park has become easier than ever with the introduction of GPS ear tagging.
Fourteen bison have been fitted with GPS ear tags, allowing park staff and visitors to track the location of the herd.
“Buffalo Pound has had bison since 1972, and they graze on about 240 acres within the park. When visitors came to see them, sometimes they have a hard time finding them,” said Shawna Smuk, the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport’s southwest regional manager.
A partnership between the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport and the Ministry of Agriculture, the program also allows park staff to monitor the health of the herd, study their grazing patterns and evaluate conservation efforts.
The tracking system will provide better data to support herd management, as herd size has fluctuated since the animals were introduced 53 years ago.
Smuk added that it is now much easier for visitors who want to catch a glimpse of the bison to locate the herd.
“People can go to our interpretive centre at the visitor chalet and they can actually see on the screen where the bison are located, and this is really exciting in lots of ways. It helps enhance the visitor experience by knowing where the bison are in the park,” she said.
The Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport said this project could also benefit livestock producers, as it lays the groundwork for future tracking initiatives to monitor grazing behaviours and explore the use of tracking technology.