On Sunday morning, a move to transport 100 bison to a new home started at the Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage.

Over the next few days, the bison will be placed in specially made crates at the center and then they will be flown to the village of Shageluk in Western Alaska. There was a time when these animals used to freely roam in Alaska, but 150 years back, they became extinct, said the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Cathie Harms.

Now, an effort is being made to bring them back that were present in the state for thousands of years. “And the really exciting thing is, in the United States, this is the last big species we lost in the 1800s that we can bring back. And it’s pretty cool from a conservation project standpoint”, said Harms.

As per biologists, it was in 1990s that the idea to release a herd of bison into the wild started. But due a number of obstacles, the project could not actualize until this year. Harms said Shageluk should provide an environment to the animals, where they can easily thrive.

Harms affirmed that the area where they will be transported has lowlands, ponds, lots of grassy meadows and that is why they are going there. It will happen for the first time in their lives that they would not be behind any fences.

The animals will be released in temporary pens that will be no more than four to six acres in size. The animals can take some time to adjust to the area and hopefully, in few weeks, the gates will be opened and the animals could freely roam there.

Harms shared that the bison to be released in the new area will be equipped with satellite or radio collars to track their movements. For the next few years, the animals will be monitored on regular basis.