| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 5/06/05 |
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| Six
bison killed by semi-truck in late night collision
By Marlo Pronovost, West Yellowstone News
5/06/05 |
Gordon
Berger is use to coming upon unpleasant scenes.
During his many years as a West Yellowstone Police officer
who liked to work the night shifts, blood, guts and almost
everything else was just part of the job.
But last Sunday night was especially gruesome. As he was
returning from Bozeman in his personal vehicle, he came
upon an accident involving a semi-tractor trailer hauling
some 44,000 pounds of peat moss that had collided with
a small herd of six bison. The accident occurred shortly
after midnight just seven miles out of town on Highway
191.
The truck driver wasn't hurt.
The bison, however, were "scattered all over the
place", according to a police report from the West
Yellowstone PD.
It's particularly hard to see bison on the roadway at
night because their dark coats camouflage them in the
night. And during this time of year, as bison migrate
out of Yellowstone National Park in search of green grass
to munch on, there are plenty of opportunities for such
deadly interactions.
During the day, motorists are alerted to bison crossing
the highway through a combination of fluorescent orange
road signs posted on the should of the road by state official
and members of the Buffalo Field Campaign, who stand along
the side of the highways and gesture for drivers to slow
down when bison are in the vicinity.
The number of bison deaths since March has skyrocketed
to about 13. That is up from one bison death in 2004 and
2003 and three bison deaths in 2002.
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