Yellowstone National Park to Kill up to 900 Bison This Winter

Yellowstone National Park plans to kill up to 900 bison this winter in an effort to control the size of the park’s herd. Any animals that stray from the park over the winter months will be killed in potentially the largest cull of the US.’s last free-ranging pure-bred bison in seven years. Currently, Yellowstone’s bison population is estimated at 4,900 head and the park hopes to reduce this number to 4,000.

Yellowstone’s park management plan sets the target population of bison at between 3,000 and 3,500 animals. It has been determined that this is the population size the park can support over winter without supplementary feeding. It’s also considered large enough to maintain the genetic integrity of the bison population, while preserving the ecological function that the animals provide as grassland grazers and a source of food for carnivores. The culling or removal of some migratory bison was agreed upon by the park due to the risk of the bison wearing out their welcome on farmland in neighboring areas.