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New technology is making it easier for visitors to Saskatchewan’s Buffalo Pound Provincial Park to view the park’s bison herd.
According to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport, 14 of the animals have been fitted with GPS ear tags, allowing staff to track their movements within the park.
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The goal is to enable staff members to track the herd’s movements, monitor the animals’ health and learn more about their grazing patterns and the effectiveness of conservation efforts, while also making it easier for tourists to find a spot to see them up close.
The herd’s location will be tracked by the GPS tags and displayed on a screen in the park’s visitor centre.
“We often receive visitor inquiries about where the bison are in the park,” Dave Bjarnason, the park’s manager, said in a statement.
“The herd lives on 250 acres of rolling hills and is not always visible from the fence line. The display helps visitors determine if they can find a spot to see them up close, and it gives us another opportunity to educate people about the bison.”
Alana Ross, Saskatchewan’s minister for parks, culture and sport, said the herd is a part of the region’s history and a “crucial” part of the park’s ecosystem.
The ministry said livestock producers in the province could also benefit from the data gathered through the new tracking technology (Saskatchewan Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport/Submitted)
Bison were introduced back to the park in 1972, the ministry explained, and the size of the herd has fluctuated over the years since then.
“With this new tracking system, park staff can make sure both the bison and the land remain healthy,” Ross said in a statement. “It will also help visitors create a deeper connection to nature and the cultural importance of these remarkable animals.”
The ministry said livestock producers in the province could also benefit from the data gathered through the new tracking technology, as the information collected “will lay the groundwork for future projects about bison grazing behaviour and using technology to track livestock.”
Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is located northeast of Moose Jaw.
