Bison population control effort leads to 100 transferred out of Grand Canyon National Park

In an effort to control the Grand Canyon National Park's bison population, 100 of the hump-backed, shaggy herd animals were relocated last week.

According to the National Park , its wildlife managers moved the 100 bison from the park's North Rim to South Dakota's Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe on Sept. 13. The park said the transfer was made via the Intertribal Buffalo Council, whose website describes it as being "a collection of 80 tribes in 20 different states that facilitates themanagement of over 20,000 buffalo."

The herd's summer 2024 population was approximately 378, according to the park. The population goal in 2022 was 200, according to reporting by The Arizona Republic at the time.

There have been 306 bison removed from the North Rim since reduction efforts started in 2018, with 282 taken to eight Native American tribes under an agreement with the Intertribal Buffalo Council, the national park explained.

The science-based Initial Bison Herd Reduction Plan was formulated by park managers in conjunction with the public, the state of Arizona and Native American tribes in an effort to reduce herd through live capture and transfer, according to the Grand Canyon National Park.

The plan also includes "limited lethal removal," the park said. This killing process is defined by the park as holding a strictly public purpose conducted under the direction and supervision of the National Park Service. Unlike hunting, the park explained, the entire carcass is not kept by the person who has killed the bison.

The North Rim's bison are originally a captive herd from northern Arizona's House Rock Valley which made its home at the National Park where hunting is prohibited and no predatory wolves. Bison numbers can grow by 20% a year, threatening the landscape, feeding resources for other animals and archaeological sites.

The Republic reporter Brandon Loomis contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bison population control effort leads to 100 transferred out of Grand Canyon National Park