Elk Island National Park

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 is now 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.[9]

Elk Island National Park has a prominent history in large ungulate conservation. As early as 1907,[10][11] 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[10] evaded capture and became the ancestors of today's herd in Elk Island National Park. Since 2007, Parks Canada has actively managed a herd of about 400 pure-bred and disease free plains bison[12] and 300 wood bison[13] in Elk Island. When the bison number over this amount they are sold. The proceeds of the sales go to help finance the needs of national parks.[14]

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.[15] 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.[16] 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 a protection against any disease wiping out the North American herd of that species.[17][18]

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.[19]