Wood Bison Restoration in Alaska
Movements after Release

Bison Herd Locations:

As of October 2015, the core range of the reintroduced wood bison herd was within 30 miles of Shageluk, except for two lone bison that explored habitats along the Yukon River from Russian Mission to Galena.

In the first six months after the release, about 90% of the wood bison stayed within 30 miles of the release location (approximately 4 miles north of Shageluk). A few animals made exploratory adventures. The farthest went 155 miles, the second farthest went 86 miles, and a couple of others traveled about 80 miles (all straight line, one-way distances). Almost all animals that have moved long distances have come back to the core area at one time or another.

Map Links

Map of bison movements after initial release

Wood bison were released across the Innoko River from the community of Shageluk. The release site is about 17 miles east of the Yukon River. Shageluk is about 150 miles northeast of Bethel and about 325 miles west of Anchorage.
In the initial months after the release, cows and juveniles broke into smaller groups and made several forays exploring their habitat, returning to within a few miles of the release area. The forays range from 14 to nearly 90 miles. It appears the plan to release the herd just prior to calving to anchor the herd to that area succeeded. The red loops on the map show the approximate bison forays.
Twenty of the bulls released were large, mature animals which connected with cow groups just before the breeding season. Ten of the bulls released were smaller animals which dispersed to explore habitat, grow and eventually become breeding bulls. Many wood bison herds were established in Canada with only yearlings which had to grow to breeding size and age. The age diversity of the lower Innoko/Yukon River herd includes calves of the year through animals older than 10 years. This can allow breeding the first year, which can mean early herd growth.