Helping to re-establish wood bison around the world

In April 2020, Parks Canada took part in a unique international conservation initiative to relocate 30 wood bison from Alberta’s Elk Island National Park to Lenskiye Stolby Nature Park, in the Sakha Republic of the Russian Federation. This is the fourth bison transfer between Parks Canada and the Sakha Republic. It is the result of many years of scientific and cultural cooperation, and international conservation leadership between the Governments of Canada, the Sakha Republic and the Russian Federation.

Reintroducing and translocating bison is part of Canadian and international efforts to restore the species—as well as the ecosystems and habitats that depend on them. The return of bison from near-extinction is one of Canada’s conservation success stories. Through our efforts, populations of plains and wood bison have been re-established across North America and around the world.