Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Beloved bison 124

Disturbing news from the area Bethel tonight. A recently released and tagged wood bison was illegally shot and killed near the Bering Sea Coast.

The Alaska Dispatch News has more details:

Bison 124 was special, an unusually strong and adventurous animal. Biologists had high hopes for it.

Its wanderings in a new world made it an important member of the captive wood bison herd released into the wild in 2015, said Tom Seaton, a state wildlife biologist who oversees the Alaska Wood Bison Restoration Project.

People in villages up and down the Kuskokwim River, and beyond, loved to catch glimpses of it. The young cow had potential to become the nucleus of a satellite herd.

Then someone shot it.

Troopers say that happened Friday near the village of Quinhagak, by the Bering Sea coast about 70 miles from Bethel. They’ve charged Benjamin Moore, 25 — who is from nearby Eek and recently moved to Quinhagak, with two misdemeanors for, troopers say, illegally taking and possessing game. The meat was donated to an organization in Bethel.

According to the Dispatch News, wood bison 124 was among 130 released in 2015, but this was considered a beloved animal, making its death that much more difficult to swallow.

“It was a particularly special animal that had a lot of knowledge,” the biologist said.

He was speaking from the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, which cared for the wood bison before they were released and still has 20 of the animals. Seaton was helping the state veterinarian give the captives checkups and do routine medical work.

By December, Bison 124 was approaching Quinhagak. The state sent posters to hang in public buildings so people would know it was not to be hunted and what it looked like.

Sadly. that didn’t prevent its death.


http://aksportingjournal.com/woodbisonshot/

Sad, but not surprising considering the area...

Misdemeanors or not near strong enough

^^^^^This

The whole story is even sadder as I spent the day moose hunting with a USF&WS bio and an ADF&G bio. They had quite a bit more info...

Wanton Waste should be a charge...

The special situation the cow was released under did not cover it under the ESA. It was a research project designed to see where the animals might prosper. It was the singular animal that might have produced an additional herd...

Oh yeah, the meat cow is hanging... 20 minutes from entering the unit until we were discussing the best way to levitate her to the trailer.

The truck with a double shot of line was the clear winner.

Well WAAH fu-k, as soon as the liberal placers stop NAMING the fuc-kin food/animals the better off we'll all be, poor poor cecil the lion.

I do believe the name didn't cause her death... not in this situation, and this was far from a cecil situation....

The fact of naming a [test/rescue/placement] animal is by very definition rooted on feel good liberal policy.

Also, man, reintroducing, trying to force mans will against natures will is a chit load of wasted monies and time.

You guys may have to forgive my attitude this morning, I haven' taken my estrogen supplements for a week and made some very strong coffee this morning, I need to go to the pharmacy today.

Yep sometimes Man gets lucky but its hard to fool Mother Nature.. typical example, reminds me of our brilliant Game and Parks brainiacs back in the late 70's who started pen raising mass quantities of ring necks to bump up numbers on public land...as if when released they would actually stay there or had any street smarts to survive..The "Nebraska coyote feeding program" as it was called was a big success!

Yep. look up Red Wolf in NC. What a clusterfuck that was / is.

You bet Men, just like the gestapo G&F here in Oklahoma, only allowing us one tom turkey per year so they can trap our turkeys and trade em to the western states for fuggin rattlesnakes and mountain lions, and they've been doing that for 20 years that I know of.

Anything that can and will kill a woman or child gets sos by me.

We bought gas in Shageluk on a Innoko river hunt . in the fall before the Woodies were released.
Initially, the Woodies were flown into Shageluk and allowed to acclimate, before being released.

Very sad. Nice video of the release somewhere in the ether.

Always take enough "Rich & Rare Bourbon" for trading on these trips. If you don't trade it you can use it for emergencies.

LOL, and you can traverse Africa with protein [meat] only.

Better than cash for ransom, they can't eat paper.

Afrikaners don't drink bourbon?

I have no problem reintroducing critters that were remembered by living humans when the reintroduction plans were laid. They are not given ESA protection and cannot be and they hope to get them back to huntable numbers.

Wonder what the literacy rate is in the villages?

Gotta read to see a picture of a buff with a circle and line through it? LOL

That must mean "Kill 'em All?"

Isn't there a bi-lingual law for the villages?

Absolutely nothing will happen to this guy. Misdemeanors under SB91 are citations. As I said, nothing will happen to this guy. He's a criminal, frequent flyer, scum. He is already out.

Kill none. But you are still likely right in that joke.

I'd bet alcohol was involved...

Without reintroductions and population augmentation a huge portion of big game populations would be extinct in North America and beyond. In many cases "man's will" is a causative factor in population declines; necessitating management.

I understand what you're saying, but, one day, man too will be puked out into non-existence by mother nature the way hundreds of species cease to exist daily.

Mans overreach and pure greed has messed up about as much as he's fixed, if you'll allow yourself a full 360 degrees of sight.

That assessment had to come from the bottom of a big bottle...

The bison that were killed off in about 1900 had nothing to do with over reach or greed. They were simply forced to the margins and killed off. With a little help they may return to huntable numbers.

Gunner,
There ain't nothing in in the area where the Woodies were released. Maybe a few wolves , and moose, couple bears. Lotsa beavers.
Woodies are sure a big step in the right direction, IMO.

Apparently, near villages is not a location where they will prosper.

True. Thank goodness I only name the yard moose and those in my annually frequented hunting area. more memories in kill and eat one I knew than a perfect stranger

124 moved way South of the anticipated range and went through a lot of different country.

Being part of a research project of sorts at this point, the individuals need some way to be ID'd.

Better than being called 'Princess' or something, IMO.

Yeah, I see your point 124 is just too sexy!

Isn't it time for a WTF?

Are the Bison native to Alaska?

They were and were killed off about 1900. When they started the project there were people alive with personal memories of them. I see no downside to the reintroduction especially since the ESA does not apply.

Yes, Princess. It is time.
WTF?
GFY.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if they were native or not.

And backatcha!

Lotsa good hunting today due to smart re-intro projects many years ago. Of course, some boondoggles ...

This dumass should have eaten the critter.

Yeah, probably, but the real disrespect made it a real secondary consideration IMO... just a total dirtbag doing what dirtbags do...