American Bison - Buffalo Field Campaign

Plate 9.2 Meeting of stakeholders at Vermejo Park Ranch, IUCN Bison Specialist Group. Photo:
John Gross.
management include state and federal agencies (animal health
regulators, land management agencies, and wildlife agencies),
landowners, livestock producers, conservation organisations,
sportsmen’s organisations, and native people groups and
organisations.
9.6 Active Management: Handling,
Herding, Infrastructure
Bison differ substantially from cattle and they often respond
poorly to handling that would be routine for cattle. Bison should
be treated as wildlife and handled infrequently or preferably,
not at all. When handling is absolutely necessary, suitable
precautions must be observed, for example, old bulls (and cows)
can be very dangerous and difficult to handle. Handling facilities
designed especially for bison are needed to ensure the safety of
both the animals and people that work with them.
The overarching principle is that to preserve the true, wild
nature of bison, active management, through herding or other
interventions, should be minimised. Handling bison can result
in changes to bison behaviour and lead to management-based
selection that, over time, alters genetic composition of the herd
(Lott 1998). These changes can be irreversible and detrimental
to conserving or restoring a “wild” stock. The general
guidelines on preserving normal bison behaviour below are only
an introduction. An understanding of the concepts of bison
behaviour, practical experience, and perhaps, special training is
required to handle bison well. We recommend consulting known
experts for advice. Bison handling presents a greater challenge
than handling domestic stock and managing for “wild” behaviour
is a relatively new concept.
98 American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010
9.6.1 Handling
“Sure, you can herd bison … anywhere
they want to go.”
When active management of bison
is necessary, use “calm animal”
techniques based on an approach
that adjusts human behaviour to fit the
natural response of the animal, rather
than the other way around (Grandin
and Johnson 2004; Roberts 1996). This
approach simplifies handling “wild”
animals, and it reduces the tendency
for managers to inadvertently remove
ecologically desirable traits over time by
selective culling.
Guidelines for handling bison are
predicated on exploiting their natural
instincts (Lott 1991). Bison are strongly
motivated by food, by threat of
predation, and by the need to maintain
social cohesion. Managers can exploit these tendencies: bison
can be led with food, and lighter fencing is adequate if better
foods are not detected across a fence. By appearing as a
predator, managers can precipitate uncontrollable flight or even
attack. Less aggressive techniques can be used to control bison
movements while minimising risk and effort. Bison’s herding
“instincts” prevail and groups of bison can be motivated to
move simply by motivating the lead cow. By the same token,
disrupting the established “pecking order” or cow-calf bonds in
a herd stresses bison and makes them harder to handle.
Social cohesion in bison has important implications for handling.
In the wild, herds of bison found food and fended off predators
better than lone animals, and social communication provides
important clues when handling bison. Potential danger signals
include postures such as tails up, intense staring, snorting and
pawing, and “growling” (by bulls) (Lee 1990a). More subtle
signals can advertise anxiety, intent to move away, or willingness
to follow.
It is easier to lead than to drive bison (Lee 1990b). Once trained
to come to vehicles for food, bison will readily follow a vehicle to
different parts of their home range, or they can be gathered for
processing. Food dispensed at corrals during annual processing
can motivate bison to move on their own toward corrals at the
appropriate time the next year.
Predator-related behaviours of bison that handlers can use to
their benefit include:
1) A tendency to interpret a direct approach or staring as a
threat;