A Montana photographer on Friday shared footage showing dozens of bison stampeding toward Yellowstone National Park after apparently being targeted by tribal hunters.
A description on Elizabeth Aluck’s Facebook reel reads: “Bison running back into Yellowstone National Park after being shot at by hunters.” (Click here to view the reel.)
The footage, posted on the Yellowstone Critters page, was captured in mid-February near Gardiner, just north of the park. Aluck told FTW Outdoors that she saw hunters shooting at bison and subsequently followed the herd for about 15 minutes as it ran toward the park.
A second Reel showing the beginning of the stampede also was posted to her Yellowstone Critters page. (Aluck privately shared several clips with FTW Outdoors that showed hunters shooting, and wounded bison limping. She said she did not want such graphic content on her public page.)
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On Friday, she added: “Hunters are all over town right now, and will be all weekend.”
Montana’s general bison season closed Feb. 15. But Native American tribes, which enjoy traditional hunting rights, operate within their own system of guidelines.
According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, several tribes “have demonstrated their aboriginal right to hunt bison in Montana near Yellowstone National Park under treaties that were negotiated with the U.S. Government.
“These are legal hunting rights, and tribes hunt during seasons and under regulations established through their own regulatory processes. At times, these hunts may occur outside of Montana’s regulated hunting seasons.”
The hunts are controversial, in part because bison are sometimes shot soon after crossing the park boundary toward winter foraging areas such as the Gardiner Basin. (Hunting inside the park is illegal.)
The harvest for 2022-23 exceeded 800 animals as of March 3.
It’s worth noting that the park anticipated a significant cull this winter because so many bison were expected to migrate outside of the park in search of grass, posing potential problems.
To be sure, management of Yellowstone National Park bison is highly complex. The park boasted a population of about 6,000 bison before the 2022-23 hunting seasons began.
–Image showing bison running toward Yellowstone National Park is courtesy of Elizabeth Aluck