Bison were hunted close to extinction as the Western prairies came under cultivation, but now, thanks to the Canadian bison industry, they have made a big comeback.  Statistics Canada today released analysis of the 2006 Census of Agriculture, which found about 2000 Canadian farms raising a total of almost 200,000 head of bison—an increase of over one-third since 2001.  The herd amounted to only some 10,000 head in 1991.

Bison producers are concentrated in the Western provinces—British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba—with less than 5% from Ontario and east. Alberta alone has 49.7% of the herd and 45.8% of the farms. Saskatchewan has the second largest bison herd (29.3%), followed by Manitoba (10.0%) and British Columbia (6.5%).

The Peace River region, in British Columbia and Alberta, is one of the country’s key bison-producing regions, with 14.4% of the country’s herd. The region, north of Grande Prairie in Alberta and encompassing Dawson Creek and Fort St. John in British Columbia, experienced a 59.9% increase in bison since the last Census of Agriculture, climbing from 17,661 in 2001 to 28,232 in 2006. Manitoba’s largest bison population was in the South Interlake area located between the southern part of Lake Winnipeg and the southern part of Lake Manitoba, with over 5,000 head.

The quantity of bison meat exported from Canada doubled between 2001 and 2006.

Commonly called "buffalo", Bison bison is the correct scientific name for the North American species.  (True buffalo are found only in Africa and Asia.)  Estimated to have numbered in the millions during the early 1800s, fewer than 1000 bison were left alive by 1899.

The Statistics Canada report does not focus specifically on the role of private enterprise in the recovery of the bison population, but it seems clear that private ownership has played a crucial role in preserving bison in Canada.

The full report is fascinating and highly recommended.  In addition to the statistics cited above, the study includes biological and historical information on the two species of bison prevalent in North America, a fine map showing the places in Canada where they are raised on farms, and a chart comparing the nutritional value of bison meat with other kinds of meat.  The html version also includes five high-resolution photographs of bison.

Sorry, Alice, the report doesn’t include any other even-toed ungulates.

Sources:

Firmage-O'Brien, Kelly, 2008. "Bison on the comeback trail", Statistics Canada, Canadian Agriculture At A Glance: Livestock.
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/96-325-XIE/2007000/article/10504-en.htm [html]
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/96-325-XIE/2007000/article/10504-en.pdf [pdf]
(accessed 25 January 2008).

Statistics Canada, 2008. “Study: Canada’s bison industry”. The Daily, 25 January.  Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-XIE.
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080125/d080125b.htm (accessed 25 January 2008).

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