Elk Island is home to the densest population of
ungulates (hoofed mammals) in Canada. A variety of mammal species including
coyote,
bison,
moose,
mule deer,
lynx,
beaver,
elk,
white-tailed deer, and
porcupine are year-round residents.
Black bears and
timber wolves certainly roam within this park, but they are not commonly seen by wildlife viewers. Over 250 bird species can be found in the park at various times of year. Most notable among these are the
red-necked grebes,
American white pelicans,
double-crested cormorants,
great blue herons,
red-tailed hawks,
American bitterns and the
trumpeter swans. Elklake.jpg|Astotin Lake
Wildlife management Elk Island National Park maintains a thriving elk population, estimated at 605 in 2007, as well as around 300 moose and over 500 deer.
Parks Canada transferred eighteen moose from Elk Island to
Nova Scotia's
Cape Breton Highlands National Park between 1947 and 1948. Reintroduction of traditional species has been an important focus as well. Besides the success of the wood and plains bison introduction, beavers were reintroduced in 1942, and in 2007 numbered near 1000. 1987 saw the beginning of a trumpeter swan reintroduction programme, which was seeing mating pairs returning to Elk Island, raising hope for a sustainable population. Elk Island National Park also remains a seed herd for repopulation efforts in other areas. Elk Island elk have been relocated to various parts North America, including Ontario and the foothills of the
Rocky Mountains. Plains bison have been reintroduced to conservation areas scattered throughout their historic domain, for example
American Prairie in eastern Montana,
Grasslands National Park and the
Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area in Saskatchewan, and in 2006, 30 wood bison were relocated to the
Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to begin repopulation efforts of the area historically inhabited by the now extinct
steppe bison.
Bison conservation Elk Island National Park has a prominent history in large ungulate conservation. As early as 1907, the Canadian government bought one of the last and largest remaining pure-bred plains bison, the Pablo-Allard herd, from Montana. Close to 400 bison were shipped to Elk Island as a temporary
waystation until the fencing at
Buffalo Park in Wainwright was completed. In 1909 the fence was finished and 325 bison were relocated to Buffalo National Park. However, 40–70 bison and 300 wood bison in Elk Island. When the population exceeds this number, the excess bison are sold. The proceeds of the sales go to help finance the needs of national parks. In the late 19th century, only 300 wood bison remained worldwide, almost exclusively in
Wood Buffalo National Park. During the 1920s, 6,000–7,000 plains bison were also relocated to Wood Buffalo National Park. These bison were not only infected with
brucellosis and
tuberculosis, which infected the wood bison herd, but the wood and plains subspecies also
interbred, and thus it was thought that wood bison were completely extinct by the 1940s. In 1957, however, a disease-free, not fully but relatively pure wood bison herd of 200 was discovered near Nyarling river in Wood Buffalo National Park. In 1965, 23 of these bison were relocated to the south side of Elk Island National Park and remain there today as the most genetically pure wood bison remaining. In 2007, the wood bison population in Elk Island National Park was estimated at 315. Elk Island has become famous for exporting its ungulates to other conservation areas around North America, and even to Russia. In 1996, elk were sent to
Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky. Starting in 2005, a series of plains bison deliveries were made to the
American Prairie in northeastern Montana, including 94 head in 2010 and 72 in 2012. Three groups of 30 wood bison were sent to the
Republic of Sakha, in the Russian Federation, partly to replace the extinct steppe bison in the habitat but also as protection against any disease wiping out the North American herd of that species. Conservationists transferred fifty-three wood bison from this national park to the
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in June 2008. They were absent from
Alaskan boreal forests for nearly one hundred years. == Climate ==