Officials at the Grand Canyon have relocated 31 bison from the North Rim to a reservation in Oklahoma as part of their plan to reduce the herd from 600 to about 200 bison.
Park spokeswoman Lily Daniels says relocating the animals is a large, complex project involving many different agencies and groups.
“A large group of bison entered, we closed the gates,” she said. “We had the inter-tribal buffalo council with livestock trailers and they were able to fit into three of them. We had a couple people from Yellowstone and Badlands National Park, and we had a National Park Service veterinarian and a couple biologists from the forest service.”
According to park officials, the large bison herd is threatening water, soil, and vegetation resources, and relocating them is the most humane way to protect park resources.
